The New York Mets won their second straight over Texas as they broke open a tight game late.
The New York Mets played spoilers once again against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, using some late home-run power to get a 7-2 win in the middle game of their three-game series.
The game was tight early. The Mets got two runs in the third off Texas starter Cody Bradford, and Texas countered with two runs off Nolan McLean to tie it up.
The Mets got their runs on a two-run homer by Juan Soto, and Texas countered with an RBI single from Jake Burger and a groundout from Evan Carter that got another run home off McLean. That made it 2-2, and the bats went silent for the next two innings.
It was McLean’s final start of the season, and he was impressively economical. He went seven innings and gave up just three hits and a walk to go with those two runs while picking up five strikeouts. He also did it in just 82 pitches, and his record for the season will show an ERA of 3.16 and a 12-10 record that would have been far better on a team that wasn't 12 games under .500.
Both bullpens were effective initially. Devin Williams returned from the IL to pitch a scoreless inning, and a pair of Texas relievers picked up Bradford when he left. The reliever who cracked first was Jacob Latz, who gave up a solo home run to former Ranger Marcus Semien in the eighth to give the Mets a 3-2 lead.
That left the question of who would close for the Mets with Williams’ inning already accounted for, but that became moot in the top of the ninth when New York rallied and loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single by Nick Morabito.
That brought Brett Baty to the plate as a pinch hitter, and Baty launched a moonshot grand slam to make it 7-2 and win the game. It was a welcome moment for Baty, who’s been red-hot lately after slumping for most of the season.
The Mets win should have hurt the Rangers a lot, but there’s almost no such thing as being out of the running in the AL West. The Houston Astros also lost, so both teams are tied for first at 78-80, and it’s becoming increasingly likely that this division will send a sub-.500 team to the playoffs. The Mets get a chance to sweep the series on Thursday, which would be icing on the cake as they continue to play spoilers in a loser’s race.
