Jesse Winker's walk-off home run gives Mets series win over Orioles
In so many ways it was the perfect metaphor for these Mets, and an apt coda for this up-and-down homestand.
It was neither a wholly smooth nor an entirely crisp nine-inning exhibition spanning 2 hours, 29 minutes Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field.
Instead it was a display of resiliency. Of grit. Of finding a way to win. The themes, the hallmarks, of this team.
“It’s a special bunch,” Jesse Winker said after slugging a pinch-hit, walk-off home run to help the Mets outlast the Orioles, 4-3 in front of 32,871. “It’s really cool to be a part of and we’re just going to keep it going.”
Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos also homered for the Mets, and Edwin Diaz (5-1) got the win after throwing a perfect ninth. Diaz tied his single-season win total, set in 2021.
The Mets (66-61) took two of three against the Orioles (74-54), have won consecutive series and went 5-4 on a homestand that also featured series' against the A's and Marlins. They are two games behind Atlanta for the last Wild Card spot in the National League.
The Mets will finish their regular season with 35 games in 39 days beginning Thursday in San Diego and continuing in Arizona next week. They'll play their next seven games against the top two teams in the NL Wild Card standings.
“We won a big series,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “And here we are, getting ready for a West Coast trip. We’re playing another two really good [teams].”
The homer, which came off a 3-2 pitch from Seranthony Dominguez, was Winker’s first homer as a Met, his second walk-off this season, and the sixth walk-off of his career. Dominguez also surrendered Francisco Alvarez's walk-off blast Monday night.
“I saw it go over the fence and I blacked out,” said Winker. “I knew I hit it hard and then I saw it go over and I was just happy.”
So, too, was Sean Manaea, who watched the end of the game in the training room after another strong start.
Manaea struck out nine in seven plus innings, yielding only three runs and three hits. It marked the third time on his last four starts that he’s thrown at least seven innings.
“I’ve just been consistent,” Manaea said. “The goal for me is [to] go deep in the game and help the team win.”
He was more than consistent against Baltimore. He was nearly perfect.
Manaea had not allowed an Oriole to reach base in the first 5 ⅔ before hitting second baseman Jackson Holliday with a fastball to end the bid for a perfect game. One pitch later, Austin Slater drove Manaea’s attempt at a no-hitter and shutout over the right field wall to tie the score at 2.
“It’s hard not to,” Manaea said when asked if he was thinking about the possibility of throwing a perfect game or no-hitter. “[It] definitely [was going] through my mind.”
The Mets regained the lead on Vientos’ solo home run in the seventh off of Craig Kimbrel. The homer was Vientos' 20th of the season. But Adley Rutschman’s sacrifice fly in the eighth drove in Colton Cowser to tie the score at 3.
Lindor opened the scoring in the third with his 25th home run of the season, driving starter Cole Irvin’s 1-1 changeup over the right-centerfield wall and into the visiting bullpen.
J.D Martinez hit a fielder's choice in the fifth that scored Harrison Bader to extend the lead to 2-0. Martinez tapped a bouncer to third baseman Ramon Urias, who threw to Holliday for what should have been an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play. The throw got Vientos, but Holliday dropped the ball on the transfer and Martinez was safe.
“We were able to find a way,” Mendoza said. “This is [what it’s] all about: Find ways to win games. And we did it this time.”
Notes & quotes: Sean Reid-Foley has not begun throwing, Mendoza said. The reliever has not pitched since June 19 with a right shoulder impingement. “He’s still getting treatment and working with the trainers before he starts his throwing progression,” Mendoza said. … Prospect Jett Williams began a rehab assignment with Low-A St. Lucie Wednesday. It was his first game in four months due to a wrist injury which required surgery.
