Desperation was in the air, so whatever it took to win a game on Sunday would have been plenty acceptable for the Mets.
Nine innings?
Ten?
Fifteen?
Just win.
Pete Alonso accomplished the mission with a big swing in the 10th inning.
Alonso’s three-run homer gave the Mets a 5-2 victory over the Rangers that snapped the team’s longest losing streak in seven years at eight games.
With Francisco Lindor starting the inning on second, Juan Soto was intentionally walked before Alonso cleared the right field fence to end it.
Nolan McLean’s latest gem consisted of six shutout innings in which he allowed five hits, with seven strikeouts and two walks.
The right-hander’s ERA dipped to 1.19.
The Mets wasted a chance in the second inning, loading the bases on Starling Marte’s single and walks to Francisco Alvarez and Lindor before Soto was retired for the final out.
McLean allowed singles to Joc Pederson and Rowdy Tellez in the fourth, but got Adolis García to ground into a double play between the hits.
McLean struck out Josh Jung — the fourth time in the game a Texas batter was caught looking at Strike 3 on a fastball — to end the inning.
McLean escaped the fifth by striking out Wyatt Langford — a third strikeout in the inning.
Cody Freeman stroked a two-out double and Josh Smith walked before Mclean caught Langford looking at a sweeper for the third strike.
Soto’s RBI groundout in the fifth brought in the game’s first run.
Alvarez blooped a double to right field to begin the rally and, after reaching third on a Lindor groundout, dived across the plate just ahead of Tellez’s throw, after the Rangers first baseman fielded Soto’s grounder and stepped on first.
The Rangers got the tying run to third base in the sixth before McLean got Jung to ground into an inning-ending double play.
García was drilled by a pitch and Tellez singled before McLean got the grounder to Lindor that started the 6-4-3 double play.
Brandon Nimmo homered leading off the sixth to extend the Mets lead to 2-0.
The blast was Nimmo’s 23rd this season and first since Aug. 29.
Brooks Raley allowed two base runners in the seventh and Pederson’s single against Reed Garrett scored both runners to tie it 2-2.
Osuna’s leadoff single started the rally before Raley drilled Smith with two outs.
Garrett entered and walked Langford to load the bases before Pederson delivered.
The Mets’ frustration with runners in scoring position continued in the seventh, when Soto and Alonso were retired in succession after Alvarez reached second on Lindor’s single.
The Rangers got the go-ahead run to third base against Edwin Díaz in the ninth with one out before Smith hit a line drive — with the infield drawn in — that Lindor snagged.
Lindor threw to third and doubled up pinch-runner Ezequiel Duran.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
