Ronny Mauricio launches first major-league homer as Mets top D-backs
The Mets' Ronny Mauricio is in the dugout after his two-run home run against the Diamondbacks during the fourth inning of an MLB game at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Mets are looking to the future, and Tuesday, the future delivered.
Ronny Mauricio hit his first major-league home run and Jose Butto had his best outing to date, as the Mets beat the Diamondbacks, 7-4, at Citi Field.
Mauricio’s monster shot came in the fourth and went 440 feet to the second deck in right.
“It’s just a moment that was unbelievable,” Mauricio said through an interpreter. “I expect a lot of myself. I know that I’m a good ballplayer and, yeah, I expected to contribute.”
Butto, 25, who’s trying to make a case for himself to be part of next year’s equation, showcased an improved slider and allowed one run on two hits over five innings with seven strikeouts for his first major-league win.
“It’s incredible,” Butto said through an interpreter. “It’s a really emotional win. My wife, my son are here for the first time so it was really special to have them here. I’m really blessed.”
Pete Alonso hit a two-run shot for his 44th home run of the season and Francisco Alvarez hit a solo homer, his 23rd, in the eighth.
Butto gave up his lone run in the third on Ketel Marte’s RBI triple to the gap in right-centerfield.
The Mets, though, tied it up in the bottom of the inning after Brandon Nimmo hit a ball that took a wild hop off the lip of the grass and skipped to the rightfield corner for a leadoff triple. He scored on Francisco Lindor’s sacrifice fly. In the fourth, Mauricio eviscerated Ryne Nelson’s letter-high fastball, blasting it high up the second deck in the Coca Cola corner for a two-run shot.
They tacked on three more runs in the fifth on Lindor’s RBI single and Alonso’s two-run homer to extend their lead to 6-1.
The Diamondbacks cut it to 6-2 in the sixth on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s RBI single off Grant Hartwig in the sixth. Sam Coonrod gifted them two more runs in the eighth, hitting Seby Zavala with a pitch with the bases loaded and then walking Perdomo to cut the Mets lead to 6-4.
Reid-Foley to the IL. A day after striking out three in an inning against the Diamondbacks, Sean Reid-Foley landed on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain, the team announced. Reid-Foley, who underwent Tommy John surgery last year, had pitched in eight games with the Mets, compiling a 3.52 ERA. The Mets called up righthander Reed Garrett in his place. “When he came off the mound, I turned to Jeremy and said, 'Is he OK?” Buck Showalter said. “About five minutes later, Jeremy (Hefner) came to me and said 'Yeah, he might have an issue there.' '' … Talking about it today, he feels a lot better about it today than he did yesterday.”… Joey Lucchesi will start for the Mets on Wednesday, Showalter said.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
