Now that the Mets have climbed out of the cellar and put themselves in contention for a playoff spot, the challenge is staying in contention.
Consider the challenge accepted.
They opened a series against the Colorado Rockies with a 7-6 win on Friday night at Citi Field. Harrison Bader and Jose Iglesias each blasted two homers, while Mark Vientos had hit one and Sean Manaea tossed seven solid innings to help the Amazins’ win their fourth in a row.
The Mets (48-45) chased rookie left-hander Tanner Gordon from the game in the fourth inning, with a few big bangs and some long at-bats, but the New York bullpen gave up two homers as well to make it a one-run game in the eighth.
Up 7-3, Charlie Blackmon took struggling left-hander Jake Diekman deep to lead off the eighth. He gave a double to Ezequiel Tovar before getting the first out, and the Mets replaced him with newly acquired right-hander Phil Maton.
Maton got the second out but fell behind on Brenton Doyle, 3-1. Doyle took a sweeper on the inside corner of the plate and drove it into the left field stands, erasing much of the Mets’ lead.
This came after a wild seventh inning that saw two manager’s challenges and one manager (Carlos Mendoza) ejected for arguing balls and strikes.
Iglesias, who homered off of Peter Lambert in the fifth, was rung up on a full-count sweeper by the same pitcher. The pitch was at the lettering of his jersey, well above the strike zone, and the infielder told umpire Jeremie Rehak exactly how he felt. Mendoza sprinted out of the bullpen to fight for his player and was swiftly ejected.
Closer Edwin Diaz put two on in the ninth, adding to the intensity in the ninth. He battled Tovar for eight pitches with two outs, finally striking out the shortstop to convert the save (10).
The Rockies went up 2-0 in the second inning when Manaea gave up a two-run shot to Michael Toglia, but the Mets came right back in the bottom of the inning with three homers. They plated another one in the third, two more in the fourth and one in the fifth.
Vientos and Iglesias went back-to-back off Gordon to tie the game in the bottom of the second. With one out, Bader took one over the center field fence to put the Mets ahead for good.
They went up 4-2 after back-to-back doubles by Alvarez and Vientos in the third and 6-2 with Bader’s two-run homer in the fourth. It was his second career multi-homer game and his first since 2019.
Gordon then walked Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo sent a low liner to single field to put two on with none out. Colorado had little choice but to go to the bullpen.
A journeyman minor leaguer from Illinois who was drafted out of Indiana in 2019, it was only the second big league start for Gordon. He was charged with six earned runs on eight hits, walked two, hit one and struck out three in the loss (0-2).
Manaea, another product of Indiana colleges (Indiana State), held the Rockies to three earned runs on five hits, walking one and striking out nine. He was efficient in the middle innings, pitching around singles in the third, fifth and sixth innings and retiring the side in order in the fourth.
Brendan Rodgers led off the seventh with a home run, but Manaea (6-3) struck out the next two and got Sam Hilliard to fly out to right field to end his night. A packed crowd stood as he walked off the field.
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