The Mets somehow found a way to keep the feel-good energy going Wednesday night.
Despite several early chances and Juan Soto’s worrisome early exit after fouling a ball off his right foot, the Mets’ inconsistent bats came through when it mattered most in their 3-2 win in 10 innings over the Tigers at Citi Field.
The momentum was carried yet again by the young Mets after Carson Benge hit a single up the middle to bring home A.J. Ewing for the winning run. Benge’s teammates met him at home plate and doused him with various sports drinks.
The victory came after Mets hurlers kept them in the game. Brooks Raley delivered in the extra frame. Luke Weaver was solid in the eighth, and Devin Williams retired the side in the ninth with the potential go-ahead run on second base.
The Mets were fortunate Benge delivered in the 10th inning after a potential rally died in the seventh. Bo Bichette hit an RBI single to tie the game 2-2 with two outs and move Benge to third. However, moments later, Detroit threw out Benge at home on an attempted double steal in a bid to take the lead.
After scoring 10 runs on 13 hits during Tuesday’s win, the Mets struggled to put runners on base, and when they did, they had a difficult time bringing them home Wednesday.
They logged seven hits and were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
In the second inning, Mark Vientos and Brett Baty both hit line-drive singles to left field, and Tyrone Taylor followed with a forceout that sent Vientos home to put the Mets on the board. Yet, with Taylor still on base, the rookie Ewing couldn’t keep the momentum going and was called out on strikes.
Brett Baty had another shot in the bottom of the sixth inning. With a runner on first and on a 0-1 pitch, the third baseman took the strike, and the home plate umpire thought he challenged the call. After review, the call was upheld and Baty went on to strike out while wasting the Mets’ final challenge of the game.
Meanwhile, Huascar Brazobán held strong in relief to keep the Mets in the game. He retired all eight batters he faced and logged two strikeouts after taking over for starter Christian Scott, who had another not-so-clean outing in giving up seven hits and two runs while striking out five in 4 ²/₃ innings.
He got off to a shaky start in the first inning when Benge bobbled a line drive in right field, giving Dillon Dingler a double and pushing Kevin McGonigle to third. Riley Greene followed with a single to bring in the two runs for an early 2-0 Tigers lead.
In the following frame, Scott escaped after allowing two singles when Ewing caught a pop-up at the warning track for the third out.
However, he left the Mets with a winning chance by keeping the score close.
