Back-to-back wins for the Mets? Yes, heard that right and it was a late inning comeback win Saturday night at Citi Field against the NL West division leading Arizona Diamondbacks. But for a time, and on a London night of fog where it was difficult to see the baseball, it seemed to be another loss for the Mets after a win the day before.
But Wilmer Flores got the game winning sacrifice fly, his second walk-off RBI of the season. This 5-4 win and the mood for this team has changed after winning consecutive games for the first time in six weeks.
Does this change things around a Mets team that has been struggling? Two straight wins can build to a winning streak and change that tempo as the Mets go for a sweep of the three-game series Sunday afternoon with Noah Syndergaard on the mound.
They did this against the top bullpen in the National League. As manager Mickey Callaway said, “This is big for us. They put up good at bats all night.” Timely hitting was a key in that eighth and ninth inning that included a game tying two-run homer from newcomer Devin Mesoraco.
There was the double in the ninth, Brandon Nimmo who has become the most difficult out in the Mets lineup, got it all started before the winning sacrifice that Flores hit into the fog out in left.
“These things can turn around seasons,” said Nimmo. And so can back-to-back wins, something that the Mets have not been accustomed to doing, and there was that 11-1 start in April, accomplished with the late inning rally.
This time the Mets pulled it off against two of the Diamondbacks’ best out of the pen. Flores made contact off left-hander Andrew Chafin who entered the final inning with a 10-game scoreless streak.
And Brandon Nimmo opened the inning with the double off the fence in right off Chafin. All of which led to Flores coming home with the walk-off run. Prior to that, the eighth inning was Devin Mesoraco going with a ball down in the zone off Arizona reliever Archie Bradley, a two-run homer in the fog that went to left center field that tied the score at 4.
There was that feel in the Mets dugout. Yes, that comeback feeling was back and they knew it, their 13th comeback of the season and second on this homestand.
“It kind of got everybody riled up a little bit,” Mesoraco said. “I was a pretty cool thing to do in the situation.” It was his fourth home run of the season, third since joining the Mets last week in the trade that got Matt Harvey out of the clubhouse.
So this was a nice win even though Steven Matz did not get the decision. He continues to throw a changeup and not the fastball to the number eight hitter. That has caught the attention of his pitching conscious manager, and Callaway says for Matz it is still a learning process.
But for the Mets, and with these past two games there is that optimism again. Michael Conforto hit another home run, this one off Patrick Corbin, his first against a left-hander since August 5, 2017.
Most of all it is back-to-back wins for the Mets. They have not done that in a long time and if they get the sweep Sunday the next three at Citi Field are against the last place and rebuilding Marlins.
Hey, if they win those it’s a possible six game winning streak and before talking too soon that can also lead to something big again for this team.
Comment Rich Mancuso: [email protected] Twitter@Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso