Mark Vientos lofted a sacrifice fly in a three-run second inning and hit a three-run homer to spark a four-run outburst in the fifth frame for the New York Mets, who earned a series win by beating the Seattle Mariners 7-3 in the Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA.
The Mets won the final two games of the three-game set — which began Friday and Saturday in New York — to earn their first series win since July 25-27, when they swept the San Francisco Giants.
The Mets, who went just 2-14 between July 28 and Friday, remained 1 1/2 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the last National League wild-card berth.
Jorge Polanco had an RBI single in the fourth and Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 47th homer, a two-run shot in the seventh, for the Mariners, who have lost four of five after going 10-1 in their first 11 games following the trade deadline.
Francisco Alvarez (double) and Brett Baty (single) had RBI hits before Vientos’ sacrifice fly. The homer in the fifth inning was just the third since May 28 and eighth this season for Vientos, who hit 27 homers in 2024 but has struggled to earn regular playing time this year.
The four RBIs tied a season-high for Vientos, who hit a grand slam in a loss to the host San Diego Padres on July 28.
Francisco Lindor chased George Kirby (8-6) two batters later, when he laced an RBI double. Lindor finished 3-for-5 and has multiple hits in the last five games, a span in which he is batting .619 (13-for-21).
Alvarez also had three hits while Jeff McNeil added two hits.
Clay Holmes (10-6) earned the win after allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out four over five innings.
Raleigh, Polanco and Julio Rodriguez had two hits apiece for the Mariners.
Kirby gave up seven runs on 12 hits and three walks while striking out four over 4 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
