Coors Field produced a snooze fest late on Wednesday night, until the ninth inning, when the Mets bats came alive in a 5-3 victory.
The perceived offensive-heavy ballpark was the location of a pitching duel for most of the night. But Francisco Lindor came through in the ninth to put the Amazins’ ahead for good. With the bases loaded and the game tied at two in the top of the ninth, Lindor lined a clutch two-RBI single to left field to give them a 4-2 lead.
The shortstop’s second hit of the night was the big blow the club was waiting for throughout the game, however, they did not stop there. Jesse Winker added an insurance run following Lindor with an RBI single to left making it 5-2 Mets.
Paul Blackburn put together a strong performance in his second outing as a Met, keeping the Rockies’ bats at bay and keeping his club in position to win the game. The 30-year-old tossed six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out six. The only damage came off the bat of Ezequiel Tovar, who hit a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning.
Blackburn produced his second quality start in as many tries with his new team.
The Rockies opted for a bullpen game on Wednesday and it was effective for most of the night. Ryan Feltner was the opener and allowed one run on a Pete Alonso RBI single in the first inning. Noah Davis was the bulk man and surrendered just one run in four innings of work. Colorado used seven pitchers in total and only Victor Vodnik allowed significant damage in the ninth, surrendering three runs.
Jose Butto came on in relief of Blackburn and tossed scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth as the right-hander’s contributions in the bullpen continued. Edwin Diaz took the ball in relief of Butto in the ninth with the club leading, 5-2. After allowing a leadoff triple, Diaz retired the next three batters in order to secure the save that gave the Mets a series-evening victory. He gave up a run on Jake Cave’s groundout but it meant nothing in the end.
David Peterson (3.47 ERA) will take the ball for Mendoza’s squad on Thursday to try and grab the series victory. Austin Gomber (4.66 ERA) will take the ball for Bud Black’s squad in the rubber match.
