The Mets put together one of their cleanest wins of the season against the Royals, and Sean Manaea set the tone from the start. He worked seven strong innings and gave New York the kind of stability that let the rest of the game unfold on its own terms.
It did not begin smoothly. Lane Thomas jumped on the very first pitch of the game and sent it into the seats for a quick Royals lead. New York answered in the second, when Birthday Boy Jared Young doubled home Carson Benge to even things at 1-1.
Kansas City grabbed the lead back in the fourth on a Bobby Witt blast that made it 2-1, but that was about as long as the Royals were in control. The Mets turned the game in the fifth, and they did it with a little bit of everything.
Tyrone Taylor, in the game after replacing Mark Vientos when Vientos exited with a painful-looking hit by pitch off the hand, opened the inning with a homer to tie it. Brett Baty singled, stole second, and moved to third on an A.J.
Ewing single. Ewing was making his first professional appearance at second base after shifting there from center field when Vientos left.
Juan Soto then drew a walk to load the bases for Bo Bichette, whose flyout to center was deep enough to bring Ewing home and give the Mets a 3-2 edge. From there, Carson Benge and Francisco Alvarez delivered back-to-back singles to stretch the lead to 6-2.
Manaea kept rolling after that. He did not allow another earned run after Witt’s homer, and the Royals’ third run was mostly the product of a two-out Soto error in left field in the seventh.
Soto overran a single, Nick Loftin moved into scoring position, and Jac Caglianone doubled him in. Manaea then walked Isaac Collins to put the tying run at the plate, but Tyler Tobert’s strange bunt attempt ended the threat and gave the Mets a break.
Soto answered in a big way in the bottom of the seventh, launching a massive 435-foot home run to lead off the inning and erase any lingering doubt. Huascar Brazobán and Devin Williams handled the final two frames, combining for a scoreless eighth and ninth while striking out three and allowing just one hit, a two-out single in the ninth.
The result was a series win for the Mets, backed by a game that had offense, pitching, and enough defensive chaos to keep it interesting.
In Other News...
Mets Fans May Need To Rethink Their Brandon Nimmo Anger
The offseason decision to move Brandon Nimmo was always going to linger around Citi Field, especially with the Mets trying to reshape the roster and create more room for younger players to emerge. Marcus Semien has been part of that equation, but the bigger point for the Mets has been whether the change actually helped the lineup and the broader plan for the season.
So far, the answer has been complicated, with Semiens production drawing its own scrutiny while Nimmo has remained a familiar reference point for frustrated fans. The chants for Nimmo during a recent loss said plenty about the mood in the ballpark, and they also underscored how much this trade still hangs over the Mets as they sort out what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Fans Have Seen This Cristian Pache Story Too Many Times
Cristian Pache has been in this spot before, and it is starting to feel familiar for Mets fans who have watched him flash enough to stay interesting without quite forcing the issue. After a strong spring, he still wound up back in the minors, and the Mets have continued to lean on other outfield options when injuries open the door to major league playing time.
At Triple-A Syracuse, the results have been uneven enough to keep the conversation going but not strong enough to change it, with limited offense and plenty of swing-and-miss across a sizable sample. The Mets have preferred other players for those opportunities, and even if Pache remains on the radar, the path back may be more about depth and timing than a sudden breakthrough. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Made Another Pitching Shuffle Fans Need To See
The Mets latest win came with a familiar kind of late-game jolt, as they broke through for five runs with two outs in the eighth to beat the Royals 6-2. Brett Baty came through in the big spot with a bases-loaded hit that drove in two runs, and the finish only added to a night that already had a busy feel around the roster.
Before the first pitch, the club added Xzavion Curry and Tobias Myers to help stabilize the pitching mix, and more help may be on the way with Dan Hammer reportedly headed up as well. The shuffle comes as the staff tries to absorb another injury hit and keep the bullpen moving in the right direction, a reminder that even after a win like this, the Mets are still managing more than just the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]