Mets win consecutive games for first time in weeks as offense busts out in Little League Classic

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Following a mostly miserable few weeks in which they have gone from first place in the division to hanging onto a wild-card spot, the free-falling Mets were all smiles Sunday.

Whether the good vibes from their first back-to-back wins in three weeks can continue beyond an afternoon spent with Little Leaguers and an evening beating the Mariners for a second straight game — this one 7-3 in the Little League Classic at Bowman Field — remains to be seen.

They got an offensive outburst against Seattle’s George Kirby and a solid start from Clay Holmes, with the victory capped by Mark Vientos’ three-run, opposite-field homer in the fifth.

Losers of 14 of 17 heading into the game, the Mets remained a game ahead of Cincinnati for the third and final NL wild-card spot.

“It feels good,” Carlos Mendoza said of the past two victories. “We need to start winning series. It’s been rough [and] tough for all of us.”

Francisco Lindor had a fifth straight multihit game with three more hits, and Francisco Alvarez had three hits before he was forced from the game after a right thumb injury in the seventh.

That was the lone negative for the Mets, who pounced on Kirby for a dozen hits in 4 ²/₃ innings.

Holmes had completed four innings just once in his previous three starts and was coming off his worst outing of the season.

But in his return to the ballpark where he blew another game on his way to losing his closing job with the Yankees last year, the right-hander rebounded by allowing one run in five innings.

His night got off to a shaky start when he drilled Randy Arozarena with a 92 mph sinker with his first pitch of the game.

But Holmes got out of that inning, and the Mets took the lead with a three-run second with four straight hits to start the damage.

Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil singled before Alvarez followed with an RBI double to left-center that Julio Rodríguez couldn’t corral, scoring Alonso.

With the infield drawn in, Brett Baty smoked a single to center to drive in the second run of the inning.

A Vientos sacrifice fly made it 3-0 against Kirby, who’d allowed just two earned runs over 19 innings in his previous three starts.

The Mariners got to Holmes and the Mets in the fourth thanks to a misplay by Lindor.

With Rodríguez at third and two out, Jorge Polanco hit a soft liner up the middle, and Lindor, shaded that way, appeared to be in position to make an easy play, but he misjudged his leap, and the ball went into center for a questionable run-scoring single to cut the Mets lead to 3-1.

Dominic Canzone’s single put runners on the corners, and J.P. Crawford walked to load the bases for Cole Young.

After falling behind 3-0, Holmes got Young to pop out to end the 31-pitch inning.

Kirby’s night ended in the fifth, his second-shortest outing of the season, when the Mets tacked on four more runs.

Vientos, who’d snapped a 1-for-11 rut with a sacrifice fly and a single, hit a three-run, two-out homer.

Vientos said a Little Leaguer told him before the at-bat that if he hit a homer, Vientos would have to give him his bat.

The third baseman said he looked for the young player after he went deep but couldn’t find him.

The Mariners didn’t go down quietly as Cal Raleigh hit his MLB-leading 47th homer — a two-run shot off Reed Garrett — in the seventh.

But the Mets held on to win after not having won consecutive games since their seven-game winning streak ended July 27.

They’ll take this modest success to Washington on Tuesday against the last-place Nationals.