Jesse Winker hit a tying two-run triple in the eighth inning and Francisco Lindor hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the ninth as the New York Mets rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night.
The Mets were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position when Winker lofted a 1-2 knuckle curveball from left-hander Brendon Little to right field. The ball carried over the head of George Springer, who crashed into the wall face-first trying to field the ball as Lindor and Juan Soto scored to forge a 2-2 tie.
Jose Siri started the winning rally with a one-out walk and took second on a wild pitch by Nick Sandlin (0-1). Luis Torrens followed by dropping a single into left field to move Siri to third, and Toronto replaced Sandlin with Jeff Hoffman.
On the next pitch, Lindor lifted a 87 mph slider to center field as Siri scored standing up to give New York its third straight win.
In the top of the ninth, Mets closer Edwin Diaz (1-0) gave up two hits but stranded Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. by getting strikeouts of Anthony Santander and Andres Gimenez.
Winker had an earlier triple and double off former Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt, who struck out nine and allowed four hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Toronto rookie Alan Roden reached base three times and scored on RBI hits by Bichette and Guerrero. Bichette and Guerrero were a combined 5-for-10, but Toronto lost its second straight and continued to struggle with its bullpen.
After hitting the fence, Springer walked off the field with the assistance of trainer Jose Ministral and manager John Schneider.
New York’s Griffin Canning allowed one run on four hits in four-plus innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked three in throwing 89 pitches.
After Canning exited following singles by Roden and Bichette, Guerrero singled to left off Jose Butto for a 1-0 lead. In the sixth, Roden doubled to deep left and Toronto added its second run on Bichette’s double down the left field line.
–Field Level Media
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