The Mets hit three home runs, including Pete Alonso's walk-off three-run homer in extra innings, to beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 8-7.
Here are the takeaways...
- The Mets came back three separate times on Wednesday night after being held scoreless for the first six innings. Alonso, Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez all went deep for New York, who won for just the seventh time in its last 23 games.
- The Mets needed a strong start out of Kodai Senga on Wednesday night and, boy, did he answer the bell, striking out two in a scoreless first inning. A leadoff single in the second inning didn’t deter him at all as he went on to strike out the next three batters. Through three innings, Senga had seven strikeouts, one shy of the career high he set in his MLB debut against the Miami Marlins.
- After striking out Randy Arozarena to begin the fourth, Senga allowed back-to-back doubles to Brandon Lowe and Isaac Paredes to bring home the game’s first run. After a wild pitch, he settled back down and struck out the next two hitters he faced to end the inning.
- Nearing the end of his night, Senga began to lose some of his control and walked two in the sixth inning, sandwiched between a strikeout. With runners on first and second and one out in a 1-0 game, Senga got the red-hot Paredes to pop out before striking out Taylor Walls looking on a nasty cutter at the knees – his final pitch of the night.
Senga went six innings and gave up one earned run on three hits and three walks while striking out a career-high 12 hitters -- against MLB's best offense. The 12 Ks are the most by any Japanese-born pitcher in Mets history and his 55 strikeouts through his first eight games are the third most in team history.
Unfortunately for Senga, New York’s offense was stymied yet again in the early going and he wound up with a no-decision.
- After mustering just four hits in the first six innings, the Mets got on the board in the seventh inning thanks to newcomer Vientos. Facing Ryan Thompson, a side-arming right-hander who had just hit Mark Canha with a pitch, Vientos uncorked on an 0-1 slider and deposited it into the center field seats, just beyond the reach of Jose Siri (who homered a half-inning before) to tie the game at two.
- Adam Ottavino entered the game in the eighth inning and lost Arozarena to a leadoff walk before Lowe tagged him for a two-run shot that gave Tampa Bay the lead once again. Ottavino finished the inning, but the damage had already been done. The Rays added another in the ninth off Stephen Nogosek.- Down to their last out, Alvarez came up to the plate as the tying run and unloaded a three-run bomb off Jason Adam that tied the game, just as his fellow rookie did before him.
- Normally so dominant this season, David Robertson allowed two runs in the top of the 10th inning and it looked like the Mets might squander another game away. But that was before Alonso, who was 0-for-4 on the night, came up to bat and sent everybody in the ballpark happy with his towering blast.