Mark Vientos hit two home runs, including a walk-off bomb in the 10th inning to help the Mets extend their winning streak to a season-high eight games on Friday night.
Vientos hit a two-run shot in the first inning and one in the bottom of the10th off former Mets reliever Justin Wilson to lead the Amazins’ over the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4.
“There was no panic, there was no rush,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of the 10th-inning home run. “It was just with ease.”
Vientos took the first pitch from Wilson, a borderline cutter that was barely below the zone. It was a tough pitch to lay off of and it signaled maturity at the plate to Mendoza.
“He looked like a hitter there that knew what he was doing and what the pitching was trying to do to him,” Mendoza said. “He knew the situation.”
Vientos has been working on keeping his head still at the plate in order to see pitches longer. He was ready to swing at that pitch, but when he saw the movement on that cutter, he decided against it. Wilson threw him seven more pitches and Vientos fouled off four of them. They were deadlocked at 2-2 for three pitches. Finally, Wilson threw him a 97 MPH fastball inside and Vientos turned on it.
“I saw him good,” Vientos said. “Then my game plan was just to put the barrel on the ball.”
The Mets went up 2-0 and 4-2 only for the Reds to come back and tie the game twice. Left-hander Sean Manaea gave up two uncharacteristic home runs, but the Mets’ bullpen gave up nothing, giving the team a chance to win.
Jose Butto (7-3) kept the game tied with a scoreless 10th, Reed Garrett tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings after Manaea exited and closer Edwin Diaz struck out the side in the ninth.
The Mets then faced his brother, Alexis, in the bottom of the ninth. Little brother got the first out before hitting Francisco Alvarez with a pitch. Pinch-runner Tyrone Taylor swiped second, but Alexis got out of the inning with two easy outs, sending the game to extra innings.
The Reds made a good decision by using left-hander Tyler Williams behind an opener, Fernando Cruz. But then they removed Williamson with two outs in the sixth after Pete Alonso hit a double to right field. Jake Fraley made the catch, but lost the ball when he fell over the foul line.
Mendoza, playing chess with Cincinnati manager David Bell, then sent Jose Iglesias up to pinch-hit for Jesse Winker. He wanted to get the lefty out of the game and he did. Bell then made a move to the bullpen for right-hander Buck Farmer.
Iglesias, the veteran utility infielder who had to sign a minor league contract this winter to stay in the game, pinch-hit an RBI single off of Farmer, breaking a 2-2 tie and putting the Mets ahead 3-2.
Iglesias is hitting .500 with 11 RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs, an OMG-worthy number.
“You always feel good about your chances when there are runners in scoring position and he’s at the plate,” Mendoza said. “You know something is going to happen. He’s going to put the ball in play and he’s going to make the other team make defensive plays.”
J.D. Martinez then hit a shallow single to center field that was just deep enough for Iglesias to score. Starling Marte lined one to left to put two on, but Farmer got Harrison Bader to look at strike 3. Bader was pinch-hitting for Jeff McNeil, who left the game with a right wrist contusion after being hit by a pitch from Williamson in the fourth inning.
Farmer lost it on a Gatorade cooler in the visitor’s dugout, but his team quickly took him off the hook for the loss. T.J. Friedl teed off on Manaea in the seventh, sending it over the left field fence for the second game-tying two-run homer of the night.
It was the first time Manaea allowed more than three earned runs since July 19.
The first tying homer came in the fourth inning, when Manaea threw Elly De La Cruz two sinkers with no one out and Jonathan India on base after a walk. De La Cruz fouled off the first one but didn’t miss on the second, sending it 413 feet for his 23rd home run of the season.
Both home runs given up by Manaea came after he walked hitters, allowing the long balls to do some extra damage. They accounted for all four earned runs given up by the lefty, who allowed three hits, walked two and struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings.
“He missed down on De La Cruz, if you do that, he’s going to make you pay for it. And then he hung a breaking ball against the lefty,” Mendoza said. “But other than that, he was really good.”
With the Atlanta Braves’ win over the Miami Marlins, the two NL East foes remain tied for the third wild card spot (77-64).
“I don’t know if I believe in magic, but I think we have the energy and the right mindset going into this month,” Vientos said. “We’re hungry and we want to make it to the playoffs.”
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