It’s been three games without Juan Soto for the New York Mets — and three wins fueled by unlikely players.
The Mets will look to lock up another series win Wednesday afternoon when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle game of a three-game set.
Left-hander David Peterson (0-1, 4.66 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson (0-1, 5.79).
The Mets won their fourth straight game Tuesday when pinch hitter Ronny Mauricio laced a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning of a 4-3 victory.
The at-bat was the first of the season for Mauricio, who replaced Juan Soto when the latter went on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right calf on Monday. Soto is expected to miss two to three weeks.
The timely hit by Mauricio also continued an encouraging trend for the Mets, who have outscored opponents 28-8 since Soto was injured in the first inning of Friday night’s 10-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.
The Mets, who led 1-0 upon Soto’s exit, routed the Giants thanks in large part to Marcus Semien, who went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs. Semien entered Friday 3-for-23 in the first seven games of the season.
Reserve outfielder Tyrone Taylor hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in Saturday’s 9-0 win over the Giants before backup catcher Luis Torrens delivered the go-ahead, pinch-hit, two-run double in Sunday’s 5-2 victory.
“Goes to show you that we’re going to need everyone in here,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday night. “Everyone that walks through those doors, they’re important and they’re going to contribute. We’re going to give everyone a chance.”
The nail-biter on Tuesday was nothing new for the Diamondbacks, who have played eight games decided by two runs or less, including four in a row.
The Atlanta Braves scored both runs in the ninth inning of a 2-0 win on Friday before Arizona earned a 2-1 victory Saturday and a 6-5, 10-inning win on Sunday, when Ketel Marte had the walk-off RBI double.
The Diamondbacks almost made a three-run fifth-inning rally stand up Tuesday when Adrian Del Castillo laced a two-run single immediately after he won an ABS challenge to overturn an inning-ending strikeout before Nolan Arenado hit a bloop RBI double.
But the Mets tied the score in the eighth when pinch hitter Jared Young lofted a game-tying sacrifice fly off Jonathan Loaisiga.
“They fight every single night,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “And we’re conditioned and ready to play in tough baseball games just like this. It’s just how we’re wired.”
Peterson and Nelson both took the defeat in their most recent starts last Thursday. Peterson gave up six runs (five earned) over 4 1/3 innings as the Mets lost to the Giants 7-2, while Nelson gave up seven runs (two earned) over 4 2/3 innings as the Diamondbacks were routed by the Braves 17-2.
Peterson is 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA in seven career starts against the Diamondbacks. Nelson is 0-3 with a 6.95 ERA in five games (four starts) against the Mets.
–Field Level Media
