The Mets welcomed the Baltimore Orioles to Citi Field for a three-game set this week. These were the last three games that the Mets will play at home until September. Taking two out of three from a first place team would be enough, but the dramatic style in which they won the two games will give them momentum as they travel back to the West Coast for four in San Diego and three in Arizona. Games one and three in the Baltimore series were won by walk-off home runs in the bottom of the ninth. The 66-61 Mets are still on the outside looking in for the NL Wild Card, chasing the Braves.
Francisco Alvarez provided the heroism the Mets needed to win the first game of the series. The dramatics continued in the rubber match of the series with recently acquired Jesse Winker hitting a pinch hit ninth inning solo home run to win the game 4-3. Winker’s first home run as a Met came with a lot of style points.
History was also made in the third game of the series, with Francisco Lindor becoming the first shortstop in MLB history to have 25 or more home runs and stolen bases in three seasons.
Here are the by-game rundowns of the Orioles series:
Game 1: Mets 4, Orioles 3
The Mets kicked off the series with a win in dramatic walk-off fashion. Alvarez played the hero in the bottom of the ninth, with J.D. Martinez also hitting a home run. David Peterson had yet another strong start in what is shaping up to be a great year for him.
The Mets offense was paced primarily by the long ball. Martinez’s 13th was a two-run shot that started the scoring in the bottom of the second. Alvarez’s sixth home run in the ninth provided the game winner. In between, in the bottom of the fourth, Tyrone Taylor drove in Pete Alonso to put the Mets up 3-1. On the flip side, Lindor had his hitting streak snapped at 12. Alonso hit his 28th double of the year.
Peterson was dominant through six, giving up only one run to a quality Orioles lineup. With two outs in the top of the seventh, he balked home the Orioles first run before giving up a home run to Ramon Urias to tie it up. Jose Butto pitched a scoreless eighth, and Edwin Diaz a scoreless ninth to pick up his fourth win of the year.
For Baltimore, Urias’s home run was one of his two hits. Ryan Mountcastle also had a multi-hit game. Jackson Holliday drove in the first run for the Orioles on an RBI groundout in the fifth.
Getting the start for the Orioles was Trevor Rogers. He went 4.2 innings and was charged with three runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Colin Selby was up next, going 1.1 scoreless innings, followed by two scoreless from Keegan Akin. Seranthony Dominguez started the ninth, and got one out before Alvarez’s home run ended it.
Game 2: Orioles 9, Mets 5
Former Met James McCann had a revenge night of sorts against his former team, hitting a home run and driving in three runs in total to help the Orioles beat the Mets.
Martinez hit a home run in a second straight game, his 14th of the season being a three-run shot that cut Baltimore’s lead to 7-5. Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo had an RBI double each to drive in the other two Mets runs.
Jose Quintana took the mound to start for the Mets. He went five innings, but allowed seven runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts. The loss moved his record to 6-9 on the year with a 4.57 ERA. Adam Ottavino, Ryne Stanek, and Huascar Brazoban each threw a scoreless inning before Danny Young went the ninth and allowed two runs (one earned).
Other than McCann’s three RBIs, Anthony Santander drove in two with his 37th home run of the season to start the scoring in the first. Urias, Gunnar Henderson, and Eloy Jimenez each had an RBI as well.
Getting the start for the Orioles was Dean Kremer. He went six innings for the win, allowing one run on two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Cionel Perez threw a scoreless seventh. In the eighth, the Mets mounted a mini-comeback. Burch Smith threw 0.1 innings and was charged with four runs (three earned). Yennier Cano went one inning in total, before giving way to Craig Kimbrel to finish it.
Game 3: Mets 4, Orioles 3
Winker’s pinch hit home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth provided the heroics for the day. It was Winker’s first homer as a Met. Sean Manaea had a good start that included retiring the first 17 batters he faced.
The Mets used the long ball to provide much of the day’s offense, with three solo home runs. Lindor and Vientos provided solid offense again at the top of the order, each delivering two hits in four at-bats with a solo home run. For Lindor, it was his 25th home run of the year, and for Vientos his 20th. Martinez also had an RBI, on a groundout in the fifth.
Manaea ended up going seven innings, surrendering three runs on three hits with no walks and nine strikeouts. One of those runs scored as an inherited runner against Butto in the eighth. Butto’s line reads a scoreless inning, but he picked up his first blown save of the season. Diaz pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his fifth win of the season.
Austin Slater, the leadoff batter for the Orioles, had a two-run home run in the sixth off Manaea. Adley Rutschman contributed a sacrifice fly for the other Baltimore run. Other than Slater’s home run, the only other hits for the Orioles were singles by Henderson and Colton Cowser.
The Orioles had to go to their bullpen fairly often, with five pitchers toeing the rubber in the game. Cole Irvin got the start, going 4.1 innings and giving up two runs on five hits. Selby was up next and went 1.2 innings without being charged with a run. Kimbrel was up next, going an inning and surrendering a run, followed by 0.2 scoreless from Perez. Dominguez, the same pitcher that gave up Alvarez’s game winner, was victimized by Winker for the loss.
Up Next
The Mets travel west to finish August in the same region where they started it. Following four in San Diego and three in Arizona, they will travel to Chicago to take on the White Sox. The expected starters for the Mets against the Padres are Luis Severino in the first game, followed by Blackburn, Peterson, and Quintana.
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