There isn't really such a concept as a crucial match in early April. Playing just five games doesn’t provide sufficient basis for evaluating a team. Nonetheless, during this particular game, there were instances when the situation felt critical. Mets appeared bewildered, and the match appeared dismal.
Next up were Pete Alonso, Luis Torrens, and Huascar Brazobán, who weighed in before the Mets secured an intense victory over the Marlins in Miami with a score of 6-5.
Early in the game, the Mets scored against Connor Gillispie thanks to a hit from Juan Soto followed by a double from Pete Alonso. This allowed Soto to make it safely home from first base despite some close calls and thrown-out attempts at tagging him as he slid past. However, they were unable to bring Alonso home from second base, which became a recurring pattern throughout this match.
Clay Holmes began pitching for the Mets and faced difficulties, particularly during the second inning. With runners loaded and nobody out, the Marlins capitalized when Matt Mervis hit a sacrifice fly, driving in their initial run as Kyle Stowers advanced to third base. Next up was Otto Lopez, who grounded towards third baseman Mark Vientos, whose inaccurate toss allowed Stowers to cross home plate.
The Mets had additional opportunities early on to add runs, yet they were unable to capitalize. Alonso started off the third inning with another solid double and advanced to third thanks to a sacrifice fly. However, he was left stranded when both Jesse Winker and Vientos failed to connect, striking out consecutively. Then, in the fourth frame, Hayden Senger secured his inaugural major-league hit—a double—but their potential scoring chance fizzled as Francisco Lindor chased an exceptionally tough inside offering, swinging and missing.
Holmes was substituted when two players were off base at the beginning of the fifth inning from the bottom, marking his second successive start where he failed to finish through the fifth frame. Reed Garrett secured the final out of the fifth and struck out three more in the sixth, navigating around runners on base to achieve a pristine inning.
The Mets' defense continued to cause problems for them in the seventh inning. A.J. Minter began the frame and faced a challenge from Griffin Conine, who smacked a ground-rule double. During his next delivery, Minter stumbled mid-pitch; although he released the ball, it resulted in a balk call, advancing Conine to third base. When Otto Lopez stepped up to bat, his hit went towards Vientos, whom seemed to think the ball was headed out-of-play until realizing it had stayed within bounds. This misjudgment left him poorly positioned to make an accurate play home, leading to a hurried overhand toss to Alonso at first, enabling Conine to cross the plate. Following this, with Stanek now pitching, another grounder coupled with a Nick Fortes single brought about their team’s fourth run. Though Lopez might have scored regardless due to momentum alone, Soto mishandled the ball in right field, simplifying what could otherwise been a more challenging scoring opportunity.
Luis Torrens, substituting for Senger, secured the Mets' fifth hit of the game with a one-out single. Following him, Lindor hit a single to right field, advancing Torrens to first and third bases with one out remaining. Next up, Soto tapped a ball along the foul line near first base, resulting in Torrens getting caught at home plate during the tag-up play. After an extended ten-pitch sequence against Calvin Faucher, Alonso added another powerful blow to his night’s performance with a three-run homer to deep center field.
Since he was already warming up for some innings, Edwin Díaz came into the game to handle the bottom of the ninth. After Xavier Edwards got an infield single, he managed to swipe a base during the first pitch to Stowers. Following this, a wild pitch sent Edwards all the way to third. Nonetheless, Díaz recovered well enough to fan Stowers. Then, when Conine grounded towards second, Brett Baty caught it but fired off a bad toss over to Torrens; Torrens needed to stretch backward just to apply the tag properly. At first, the umpire ruled that Edwards was safe, which meant the Marlins took a 5-4 lead. Yet, after reviewing via replay, they reversed their decision, keeping things knotted. Subsequently, as Conine tried another stealing move, his effort fell short due to a strong relay from Torrens with support from a solid tag by Baty.
The Mets were unable to score in the top of the ninth, and José Buttó prevented the Marlins from scoring in the bottom of that inning, leading the game to extend into extra innings. With Luisangel Acuña replacing Baty and serving as the automatic runner at second base, Tyrone Taylor hit a soft single to right field, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Nevertheless, Torrens, Lindor, and Soto failed to capitalize, and the Mets remained without additional runs.
The initial pitch delivered by Buttó was bunted by Fortes, advancing free runner Dane Myers to third base. A soft grounder by Eric Wagaman resulted in a tag at home plate for the second out. The inning concluded with Javier Sanoja popping out foul, surprisingly without any runs scoring.
Xzavion Curry threw the eleventh inning for the Marlins, and Alonso started the frame by drawing a tough walk. Following this, Brandon Nimmo got a base hit which filled up the bases for Jesse Winker. Winker received another walk after getting four consecutive pitches, allowing Soto — who was the designated pinch-runner — to score and secure the lead.
Next up was Mark Vientos, who hit what appeared to be an obvious double play; however, Edwards fumbled the ball, allowing Alonso to score and giving the Mets a 6-4 lead. Acuña then grounded into a 5-2-3 double play, followed by Taylor flying out to conclude the inning.
The game had shifted into Danny Young's control, despite him appearing strained during his previous outing on Monday against Miami. During his second pitch, Young allowed Edwards to hit a single, which enabled the free runner Sanoja to score, narrowing the Mets' lead down to just one run. Following this, Young issued a walk to Stowers, placing runners at both bases with nobody out. However, Young managed to recover and recorded a strikeout against Conine, securing the first out before handing over the reins to Huascar Brazobán. Upon taking over, Brazobán forced a fly-out that prompted Edwards to advance to third base via tagging up.
Lopez was the final chance for the Fish, yet he witnessed a called third strike on the edge of the plate for the third out. Brazobán secured his inaugural career save, the Mets clinched their initial series of the season, and everybody could finally breathe.
The Mets will host the Blue Jays on Friday at their home opener. Tylar Megill is set to pitch for New York.
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Win Probability Added
What’s WPA?
Big Mets winner Pete Alonso, +53.8% Win Probability Added (WPA)
Big Mets loser : Juan Soto, -23.4% Win Probability Added (WPA)
Mets pitchers : +69.8% WPA
Mets hitters : -19.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play Pete Alonso’s three-run homer, +34.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play Kyle Stower’s walk in the 11th inning, -18.4%
