Two teams with two of baseball’s best preseason records arrived at Citi Field Tuesday for a showdown that didn’t disappoint on its first crack.
After recovering from a three-run deficit in the fifth inning, the Mets completed the comeback in the 10th when Francisco Lindor scored a 5-4 win over the Giants with a walk-off single in the first game of a doubleheader .
Lindor lined a single-to-center field in front of Giants left-hander Jarlin Garcia and scored automatic runner Brandon Nimmo from third base for Lindor’s first walk-off RBI as the Met. Amid a strong start to the season, the energetic shortstop was also responsible for leveling the game in the fifth inning when he sent a hustle double down right field to round out a fifth-inning rally that left the Mets (8-3) 4-1 behind.
“[Lindor] seems to be [dialing] every time we need it,” said manager Buck Showalter.
Lindor added some drama to the game in the top of the 10th inning. With runners on the corners and two outs, Adam Ottavino appeared to induce the third out with a sharp groundball to shortstop. But Lindor’s off-target throw forced first baseman Pete Alonso into a big stretch that umpire Sean Barber said pulled Alonso’s foot out of the sack and seemingly gave the Giants (7-3) the one-run lead.
Francisco Lindor celebrates his walk-off hit with Pete Alonso in the Mets beat the Giants in Tuesday’s 10 innings.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Pos
Francisco Lindor and the Mets defeated the Giants 5-4 on Tuesday.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
But Showalter questioned the call — he first thought he had nothing to lose before replay analyst Harrison Friedland told him they had a case — and it was eventually lifted for the third out.
“Pete stays put, it’s really tough,” Showalter said. “We are fortunate to have the best repeat offender in the business. Good game.”
Nimmo, activated by the COVID IL before the game, had entered a double substitution in the top of the 10th so he could serve as an automatic runner (replacing catcher Tomas Nido) to start the end of the inning. He quickly moved up to third as Jeff McNeil caught up to first and after Starling Marte left, Lindor came to the plate to work his magic.
“[That’s] what it’s about,” said Tylor Megill, who gave up his first four runs of the season but adjusted to the last six innings. “The team just grinds out the bats, tries not to overdo it, but passes the bat together. Look what happened, we came back and won.”
The Mets had a chance to win it at the bottom of ninth after Eduardo Escobar and Robinson Cano took the lead with back-to-back walks and then moved up to second and third with Luis Guillorme’s victim bunch.
But Travis Jankowski (with Nimmo on the bench) and Dominic Smith, who pinched for James McCann, both struck to send the game to the extras.
Francisco Lindor slides in safely at second base. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Jeff McNeil Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
After the Mets took a 1-0 lead in the first inning due to Marte’s speed — he singled, stole second, finished third with a subsequent throwing error and sped home in a wild field not far from catcher Joey Bart was gone — the Giants snagged Megill’s 11 1/3-inning shutout streak to start the year with two runs each in the second and third innings.
The Mets rallied at the end of the fifth. After Showalter won another replay challenge ruling Jankowski had only hit a double play on first base, McCann and McNeil hit back-to-back doubles to put the Mets 4-3.
Giants right-hander Alex Cobb then came out with a right groin injury, but Lindor greeted his replacement, Dominc Leone, with a two-out double that leveled the game at four. Lindor clenched his fist as he reached second base, sending the home crowd into an uproar, heralding his bigger moment five innings later.