The Mets have suddenly found an extra gear when they need it most.
After the bullpen blew a three-run lead in the top of the eighth, turning a 3-0 advantage into a 4-3 debacle, Starling Marte immediately answered with a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the inning, helping the Mets along to a 5-4 defeat of the Guardians Sunday afternoon in the first game of a split-doubleheader.
Marte has struggled this season — .620 OPS on the season — however, his clutch 3-for-4 performance gave his club its fourth straight come-from-behind victory.
Adam Ottavino gets most of the credit for making the Mets’ afternoon that much more difficult as he took the ball in the eighth with a three-run cushion. The right-hander allowed two runs on an RBI groundout by Myles Straw and an RBI single by Amed Rosario in which Buck Showalter immediately called for David Robertson with the score 3-2 and the Guardians’ biggest threat in the form of Jose Ramirez stepping to the plate.
Ramirez blasted a go-ahead two-run homer to left-center giving Terry Francona’s club a very temporary lead. Ottavino’s struggles this season have been alarming as the setup man now owns a 4.88 era on the season.
Despite the poor performance from the stable, it wasn’t all bad news in the pitching department the Mets got as close to vintage Max Scherzer as they’ve seen this season.
The veteran tossed six shutout innings allowing three hits and one walk. It’s just the second time this season Scherzer has completed six frames as his five-strikeout performance was arguably his best of the season.
The 38-year-old has now strung together two strong outings in a row as his start against the Nationals on May 14 — five innings of one run ball — appears to have been a building block for the three-time Cy Young award winner as his season ERA (4.01) creeps closer to normal after a brutal start to the season.
The Mets’ bats were quiet for most of the afternoon before Brandon Nimmo’s solo homer in the seventh and Marte’s clutch answer in the eighth, however, a new face provided a bit of a spark. Former Yankee Gary Sanchez made his Mets’ debut behind the dish. The two-time All-Star was right in the middle of two separate rallies as his 1-for-3 afternoon was highlighted by a sacrifice fly in the sixth to put his club ahead 2-0.
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the 30-year-old’s New York homecoming as he struck out with runners on second and third with one out in his first at-bat and was thrown out at the plate trying to score as the second run on Eduardo Escobar’s RBI single to make the game 2-0 in the fifth.
Robertson came back out for the ninth after surrendering the Ramirez homer and pitched a quick frame to secure the victory.
Justin Verlander will take the ball against Shane Bieber in the nightcap of the doubleheader as it will be a battle of the aces as the Mets look to grab the sweep.