One thing was for certain, either the Astros or the Mets would finish the day over .500.
Pete Alonso hit a tie breaking solo home run in the sixth and Jeff McNeil followed up with a three run blast as the Mets moved over .500 (40-39) for the first time since May 2nd after a 7-2 win over the Astros (40-41) at Citifield last night.
The Mets won their fourth in a row as they continued their remarkable turnaround. The Mets were 22-33 after losing to the Dodgers on May 29th. A team that followed has not become a bookmark to their season as they’ve gone 17-6 in June, 19-6 since that get together.
“They’re having a good time, they’re having fun, but at the same time, knowing that they had a job to do,” Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza said. “That’s the mindset. We come here, we prepare, we push each other, we hold people accountable and at the end of the day we’re gonna go out there, compete and have fun.”
McNeil had three hits and three runs batted in as he temporarily silenced the critics. “He [McNeil] needed that,” Mendoza said. “For him, after going through a pretty tough stretch here but I’ve been saying that l like the at bats of late and today, finally getting results.”
Francisco Lindor continued to thrive in the leadoff spot with two more hits, a run scored and a run batted in.
When Lindor was moved to the top of the order on May 18th, he was hitting .195 with 7 home runs and 22 RBIs. Since then, the Mets shortstop has gone 46 for 147 (.313) to raise his average to .249. He’s also hit 6 home runs, and 15 doubles, with 26 runs scored and 18 runs batted in.
Jose Altuve greeted Mets starter Jose Quintana by driving the first pitch of the game, a 92 MPH sinker that was right down Roosevelt Avenue, into the left field stands for a very quick 1-0 lead.
The Mets answered in their half of the first against Astros starter and loser Ronel Blanco.
Lindor and Brandon Nimmo drew back to back walks. J.D. Martinez hit a chopper to the right of the mound for an infield single that loaded the bases with no one out. Alonso struck out, Francisco Alvarez drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly.
Since returning from his broken finger on June 11th, the 22-year old catcher’s return has energized the lineup. Since he came back, Alvarez is slashing .419/.490/.744 for an OPS of 1.234 with 3 home runs and 12 runs batted in.
“There’s a lot of energy, there’s leadership, there’s passion, the joy that he plays the game with, he’s very intense but he’s very talented,” Mendoza said about his up and coming young star.
The Astros took a 2-1 lead on a two out, RBI single by Jeremy Pena in the third but the Mets tied it in the fourth when Tyrone Taylor, who continues to fill in nicely for the injured Starling Marte in right field, hit his fourth home run of the season.
With one out in the sixth, Alonso drove a 1-2 pitch from Blanco deep into the left field stands to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. It was Alonso’s team leading 17th home run of the season and his first in nine days.
The Mets were not done as Alvarez followed with a double off the glove of a diving Pena. After Taylor grounded out, Mark Vientos reached on an error by Astros third baseman Alex Bregman.
With two out, McNeil got behind 1-2, but it was a vintage at bat for the Mets second baseman as he fouled off three pitches to keep the at bat alive. On the 8th pitch of the at bat, McNeil drove a change up down the right field line that got over the wall for a three run home run and a 6-2 lead.
“To go up there in that situation, I think it was first and third, just wanted to drive the run in but was able to put a pretty good swing on it, lucky enough, it left the yard,” Mc Neil said.
McNeil, who was batting .213 and .170 in June coming in, hit his first home run since May 22nd and his three hits was a third of what he had all through the month of June.
“It’s been a little bit frustrating for me because I haven’t really been able to pinpoint what exactly what’s different in my swing but been working really hard the last week or so,” McNeil said. “Some people told me some things that really clicked.”
Lindor capped the scoring with an RBI double in the 8th as the Mets have had a tremendous month with 142 runs while giving up 91 in 22 games.
Dedniel Nunez got the win with two scoreless innings. Quintana threw 93 pitches, giving up two runs in four-plus innings. He was lifted after yielding a lead off single to Yordan Alvarez in the fifth.
Adam Ottavino relieved the Mets left hander and pitched a scoreless fifth, while Jake Diekman and Reid Garrett threw scoreless ball over the final two innings to preserve the win.
Mets will go for their fifth straight win and second in this series later today with right hander Tylor Megill (2-4, 4.81) opposing Astros left hander Framber Valdez (6-5, 3.68).