PHOENIX — The Mets had already received one mammoth clout Monday night, but chances were it would take something extra to beat the Diamondbacks.
Francisco Lindor brought the extra.
The Mets shortstop found a slider to his liking in the seventh inning and destroyed it. The Mets could finally breathe, at least for the moment.
Lindor’s three-run homer was the needed jolt in a 5-4 victory at Chase Field that ended the Mets’ two-game skid.
It got dicey late, but Reed Garrett escaped a jam in the eighth with the lead, and a key defensive play that involved Lindor in the ninth allowed the Mets to upend a D’backs team that won two of three games at Citi Field last week.
“It felt good because I got the job done,” Lindor said of his home run. “Against this team you have got to play 27 outs, especially out here in the West — when it’s 9:30 here it’s 12:30 at home. You have got to try to finish the games because we have been here before and they can come back in a hurry.”
The Mets led 2-1 on Pete Alonso’s homer as they began the seventh.
Francisco Alvarez reached on an infield single and Tyrone Taylor doubled Alvarez to third before Lindor unloaded against Ryan Thompson. The homer was Lindor’s seventh this season.
But Dedniel Núñez, in his season debut, walked all three batters he faced to begin the eighth. Garrett was thrust into the bases-loaded jam and surrendered a single to Josh Naylor for one run.
Eugenio Suárez followed with a towering fly ball that hit the center field fence, and two runs scored. But Naylor hesitated and only reached second base, turning Suárez’s shot into a long two-run single.
Garrett, clinging to a 5-4 lead, struck out Gabriel Moreno and retired Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a pop-up.
Edwin Díaz worked a scoreless ninth for his eighth save in as many chances. Alonso’s throwing error — he flipped high to Díaz covering first base on Alek Thomas’ leadoff grounder — gave the D’backs life.
But Thomas was thrown out by Alvarez attempting to steal second base. Lindor applied the tag on Thomas’ right heel at the bag, and the call stood following a D’backs replay challenge.
“The ball caught me,” Lindor said. “I just went over there and looked and I stayed down with it and the ball hit my glove. It’s a credit to Alvy.”
Griffin Canning had a fourth straight outing in which he allowed one earned run or less, but continued his trend of pitching only five innings.
On this night he was allowed to begin the sixth but was removed after walking the first batter, Pavin Smith.
“It still kind of leaves a sour taste in my mouth to walk that guy there in the sixth,” Canning said.
Overall, Canning allowed one earned run on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts in lowering his ERA to 2.50. It was a third straight start in which Canning pitched five innings.
Corbin Carroll smashed Canning’s second pitch of the game for a leadoff homer.
The blast was the first allowed by Canning over his past four starts, dating to April 11 when he surrendered one to A’s infielder Miguel Andujar.
Alonso launched a 425-foot towering homer in the fourth that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.
After Juan Soto walked, Alonso crushed a high cutter from Ryne Nelson for his team-leading ninth homer of the season. The left fielder Gurriel didn’t bother moving as the ball rocketed off Alonso’s bat and disappeared deep into the seats behind him.
It continued the torrid pace for Alonso, the National League’s Player of the Month for March/April. He also hit a go-ahead homer on Friday in St. Louis as part of a Mets victory.
“As long as we’re creating traffic and putting people on base, we’re going to be in a good spot,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Nelson was removed after plunking Lindor in the fifth. The right-hander lasted 4 ¹/₃ innings for the D’backs and allowed two earned runs on three hits, four walks and a hit batsman.
Nelson got the start after staff ace Corbin Burnes was scratched with shoulder inflammation.
