Mets earn victory by building big lead, then holding off Diamondbacks
J.D. Martinez #28 of the Mets follows through on his sixth inning two run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on Friday, May 31, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Mets mostly had a May to forget. But they ended it with a bang on Fireworks Night with a 10-9 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night before 33,884 at Citi Field.
The Mets totaled 14 hits and won their second game in a row for the first time since May 6-7 in St. Louis.
“It’s been a while,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s a good feeling.”
The Mets (24-33) went 9-19 in May. They suffered several devastating defeats, and Friday nearly became another one.
The Mets led 10-5 with two outs in the ninth when Reed Garrett gave up a three-run home run by Joc Pederson and a solo shot by Christian Walker on consecutive pitches. But Garrett struck out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to end it.
Starling Marte had two hits and drove in four runs, J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer and Mark Vientos went 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
Luis Severino (3-2, 3.52 ERA) was charged with five runs (four earned) in 5 1⁄3 innings, but he was the winner in a battle of former Yankees as the Mets strafed Jordan Montgomery (3-3, 5.48 ERA) for eight runs (six earned) and nine hits in four innings.
Severino allowed three runs in the first. He said he felt ill and “low energy” in the first two innings but was given what he called “little gummies” by the training staff and felt good enough to pitch into the sixth.
Marte’s three-run triple and Vientos’ RBI infield single in the bottom of the first gave the Mets a 4-3 lead. The Mets made it 8-4 with a three-run fourth. Pete Alonso doubled in a run and Marte and Vientos had consecutive two-out RBI singles after an error by shortstop Kevin Newman.
Martinez’s two-run homer came in the fifth.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
