PHOENIX — There were plenty of fireworks for the Mets on the fourth of July and in the end, there was plenty to celebrate. The Mets opened a six-game road trip by defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-5, Tuesday at Chase Field, marking the first time in over a month the Mets have won three straight and only the fifth time this season the Amazins’ have won at least three in a row (longest winning streak is five games).
There were six homers hit between the Mets (39-46) and Diamondbacks (50-36), but it was Francisco Alvarez who slugged the most impactful one. With one on and one out and the game tied 4-4 in the seventh, Alvarez battled right-hander Miguel Castro (4-3) for seven pitches. The catcher then sent the last one 467 fett onto the concourse in left-center field for the go-ahead shot to give the Mets a 6-4 lead.
It was the longest home run of his career and the 14th of his rookie season, which set a new franchise record for rookie catchers (Travis d’Arnaud previously held it with 13 in 2014).
“I felt it. I knew it immediately once it was gone,” Alvarez said through a translator. “Once you see the ball going that far, your emotions start to heighten because you know the significance of that moment — we took the lead there. That was a real exciting moment there.”
Starling Marte had a two-run blast in the fourth inning off right-hander Zach Davies that gave the Mets a 3-1 lead. Brandon Nimmo hit one in the fifth to break a 3-3 tie.
Three were given up by Max Scherzer, who went six innings and gave up four earned runs on five hits in the win (8-2). Scherzer settled down after giving up a first-inning home run to Corbin Carroll that put the Diamondbacks up 1-0 but then gave up back-to-back long balls to Christian Walker and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. with two outs in the fourth. Those two runs tied the game at 3-3.
“This game came down to home runs,” Scherzer said. “I gave up solo shots; we hit a three-run shot and a two-run shot. It goes back to my thing of, solo home runs don’t beat you. I was able to go out there and attack and we were able to get some runs early.”
Nimmo put the Mets back on top with his in the fifth. However, the lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the inning, the Mets started to spiral with two outs. The Diamondbacks scored one using two infield singles and two walks in a 28-pitch inning for Scherzer.
Alek Thomas, Arizona’s No. 9 hitter, chopped one to Jeff McNeil at second base, but he bobbled the ball and was unable to make a play. Thomas was awarded a single, though that scoring was questionable. Thomas stole second, Scherzer then walked Geraldo Perdomo and Jake McCarthy legged out a grounder to load the bases.
Typically, this has been when the Mets fall apart. It’s when the starter fails to execute and the Mets go to the bullpen early. And for a moment, it look as though that would happen when Scherzer walked Carroll, one of the best hitters in the NL, with the bases loaded.
But this time, the Mets didn’t let things get away from them.
Scherzer then struck out Walker to get out of the inning and strand the bases loaded. It was a huge out, but the next three he got in the sixth were arguably more important.
“I know Carroll walked, but I was throwing some good fastballs there and he was fouling them off,” Scherzer said. “Trying to throw a 3-2 changeup and it just got away from me in that moment. But then I was able to back it up against Walker and get him into a 1-2 count, then was able to throw three changeups. The last one was the one that we needed. Got a swing and miss, limited the damage to one run in that situation.”
Scherzer retired the side in order in the sixth to help lighten the load on the bullpen.
“If he doesn’t pitch that sixth inning, it’s a different dynamic,” said Mets manager Buck Showalter.
Brooks Raley and Adam Ottavino shut the D-backs down with relative ease before Drew Smith put two on with two out in the ninth and David Robertson (12 saves) walked in an inherited runner. Francisco Lindor made a fantastic stop on a ground ball and a flip to McNeil to end the game.
It was the rare game where the Mets were able to overcome their own mistakes. It wasn’t easy but it was an improvement over the last month of play.
“The mindset is that we’ve got to continue to play well and we’ve got to continue to win,” Scherzer said. “Everybody has got to do their job across the team in order to get wins. Today is a perfect example of it. Took a total team effort and a total team win in order to beat that team.”
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