The New York Mets wasted another great start from Nolan McLean by sending Kodai Senga to the mound in the ninth.
The New York Mets wasted another brilliant start from Nolan McLean as they came from behind to tie up a tough pitchers duel in the ninth, only to have Kodai Senga give the White Sox the game on a walk-off home run from Tristan Peters to give Chicago a 2-1 win.
This was a well-pitched battle from start to finish, as McLean matched zeroes with opener Sean Newcomb and bulk reliever Eric Fedde. Newcomb handled the first two and Fedde the next four, and the Mets got just five hits through the first six while the White Sox managed just one.
The Mets threatened in the seventh as they got a pair of runners on with nobody out, but reliever Hagen Smith came on to get out of the jam and keep the game scoreless.
McLean left after six as he gave up just one hit to go with four walks and six strikeouts as he continues to lower his ERA, with this outing taking him down to 3.21. Dedniel Nunez came on to pitch a scoreless seventh, but so did Smith as the game stayed tied going into the eighth.
The White Sox finally got on the board first, with Miguel Vargas starting the rally with a single to left off Daniel Duarte. Andrew Benintendi hit a lined shot that ricocheted off the bottom of the wall in right, and the hustling Vargas beat the throw home when the ball got away from right fielder Carson Benge to make it 1-0.
That made it do-or-die time for the Mets in the ninth as they faced closer Grant Taylor, and Bo Bichette did Taylor a solid by swinging at a bad inside pitch to hit a weak grounder to second.
Carson Benge then dumped a flare into left as he fought off the pitch to get a single. Luis Robert Jr. worked Taylor for a walk, and Jared Young whacked fastball up the middle to score Benge and tie the game at 1-1. Francisco Alvarez struck out, but a walk to Marcus Semien loaded the bases with two down, and Taylor came back to strike out A.J. Ewing.
That left the game in the hands of Kodai Senga, and you knew it was over as soon as he left the bullpen. He got the first out on a ground ball from Chase Meidroth, but Tristan Peters delivered the inevitable solo home run to walk it off for the White Sox as he hit a bomb to center that caromed off the top of the wall to give Chicago a 2-1 win in the rubber game of the series.
It was a unique and innovative way for Senga to once again lose a game for the Mets, who will now head home and play the Milwaukee Brewers after an off day tomorrow.
