PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks might be one of the most feared teams in baseball at the moment, but Tuesday night at Chase Field, they were sloppy defensively and their hitters were flummoxed by Sean Manaea’s delivery.
The Mets capitalized against the NL Wild Card leaders.
A six-run fifth inning and a strong start by Manaea led the Mets to an 8-3 win over the Snakes in the opening game of an important series. The lineup played long, with nearly every hitter in the starting lineup getting on base other than Jesse Winker, who still drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
“Every single guy put up extremely high quality at-bats,” said first baseman Pete Alonso. “That was huge for us. Really good way to start the series.”
The Mets needed that big inning, especially after the way the Amazins’ struggled to drive in runners in scoring position over the weekend in San Diego. After going up 2-0 in the second inning, they stranded two. Pete Alonso hit the 220th home run of his career to tie Mike Piazza for third on the Mets’ all-time leaderboard, and they managed another after a walk, an error and a fielder’s choice RBI by Jeff McNeil.
When right-hander Brandon Pfaadt struck out Francisco Alvarez to end the inning, it seemed like the same story in a new city.
This time, the Mets rewrote the ending. They worked the counts and they found holes.
“When you put the ball in play, good things happen,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “You know the defense is going to have to make some plays. We got some breaks there, but we continued to put together some really good at bats and with two strikes, we continued to fight.”
Pfaadt gave up five straight hits to start the top of the fifth. McNeil led off with a double to center field and was promptly driven in by Alvarez, who lined a single to right. Francisco Lindor sent a hard grounder past a diving Kevin Newman at second base and Mark Vientos got one past shortstop Gerardo Perdomo to score Alvarez and give the Mets a 4-0 lead.
They poured it on from there, scoring once more before chasing Pfaadt from the game with two outs and the bases loaded.
The D-Backs went to the bullpen for Jordan Montgomery. The left-hander was recently demoted to the bullpen to make room for Ryne Nelson in the rotation. The Mets had interest in signing him as a free agent over the winter, but they went with Manaea instead.
Montgomery hit Tyrone Taylor with a pitch to bring in another run. He walked McNeil to score another and Alvarez reached on an error by Perdomo. Usually a slick-fielding shortstop, Perdomo knocked down Alvarez’s chopper right at the edge of the grass. Alvarez reached, Martinez scored and Taylor was safe at third.
By the time it was over, the Mets were on top 8-0.
“We put the ball in play and we got big hits,” Mendoza said.
Manaea worked six scoreless frames before surrendering a leadoff home run to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the bottom of the seventh.
He cruised through the first six, giving up only one hit and facing two over the minimum. He’s pitched six innings or more in five of his last six starts, giving the Mets the length they need and dominance they’ve been lacking on the hill.
“It feels like as we progress with the season, he keeps getting better and better,” Mendoza said. “It’s usually not just the fastball, it’s one pitch that’s working every night. Tonight, it was the changeup to go along with the fastball. Amazing what he’s been able to do. He’s pretty much carried that rotation, along with [Luis Severino] too.”
He only made two mistakes: the pitch to Gurriel and a 1-0 sinker to Corbin Carroll, who hit it 437 feet to center field for a two-run homer. That was it for Manaea, who allowed three runs on four hits and struck out 11 over 4 2/3 innings, matching his season-high in the win (10-5).
“I’m just feeling good with everything,” Manaea said. “I have a lot of confidence in all of my pitches, I’m attacking guys and getting ahead.”
“He’s been absolutely carving,” Alonso said. “He’s done a phenomenal job. He’s just been on a heater in the second half, pitching late into ball games, punching guys out, pounding the zone consistently. I mean, he’s been on fire.”
Pfaadt (8-7) was charged with eight runs (six earned) over 4 2/3 innings. Montgomery limited the Mets to five hits and a walk over four innings, allowing only the inherited runners to score.
It was the kind of win the Mets needed, but they’ll need more just like it to gain ground in the Wild Card race.
“We continue to play good teams, but our mentality doesn’t change whether you get the first one or whether you get the second one,” Mendoza said. “Our job is to continue to win games. It helps to win the first one, but look, at the end of the day, our job is to continue to win baseball games.”
