The New York Mets haven't won a series in a while, but they changed that against the Rays last night.
The New York Mets got plenty of offense early last night against the Tampa Bay Rays as they raced out to a 6-0 lead, then fought off a comeback by the Rays to get a 10-4 win in the rubber game of their three-game series.
The Mets have made a habit of scoring early in this series, and they did it again with three runs off Rays starter Griffin Jax in the first. Jared Young singled home the first two, and Marcus Semien doubled home Young.
That made it 3-0, and the Mets doubled their lead and chased Jax in the third inning. Brett Baty supplied the big hit, hammering a double to left center with the bases loaded that just missed being a grand slam.
The pitching mix was definitely different in this win. Justin Hagenman returned after a lost season due to a broke rib, and he gave the Mets three innings of one-run ball. But the Rays charged back with three runs of their own in the fourth off reliever Chris Devenski, with Cedric Mullins an RBI single and Richie Palacio bringing him home with a two-run homer.
That tightened things up to 6-4, but the Mets broke open the game in the seventh behind Nick Morabito, who delivered yet another bases-loaded double to make it 9-4. That gave the Mets some breathing room, and Juan Soto accounted for the final run with a solo homer.
Dedniel Nunez got the win for New York as he settled things down after Devenski left, and Nate Lavender, Daniel Duarte and Jonathan Pintaro all made scoreless contributions. The Mets pounded out 14 hits, with four players having two hit nights -- Morabito, Soto, Bo Bichette and Carson Benge.
The win broke a streak of three straight series losses, and the Mets get a break in the schedule after facing the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay. It also helped them close to within three games behind the Washington Nationals, two in the loss column, as they try to make a run and escape from the NL East basement.
The Mets get an off day today, and they return home to take on the San Francisco Giants in another three-game set over the weekend. It’s a good opportunity to pick up some wins against another down team, especially with Nolan McLean going in the first game of the series.
