Pinch-hitter Jesse Winker led off the ninth inning with his first home run for the New York Mets, giving them a 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.
Mets starter Sean Manaea retired the first 17 batters he faced, and Mark Vientos put New York ahead 3-2 with a solo homer in the seventh inning.
Francisco Lindor also hit a home run, and J.D. Martinez drove in a run with a grounder, helping the Mets win two out of three games in the series.
New York started the day 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the final National League playoff spot, with the Braves set to play Philadelphia later.
“Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, ‘Huge series for us, especially winning two games the way we did it — walk-off homers against a really good team. Both times, we had the lead and we lost it late in the game and then we were able to find a way. And this is all about finding ways to win games.’”
After a 5-4 homestand, the Mets will start a crucial 10-game trip on Thursday night with the first of four games against the strong San Diego team.
“They’re playing well, but we’ll be ready for it,” Mendoza said.
Edwin Díaz (5-1) struck out two in a perfect inning to earn his second win of the series. His first win came Monday night, when Francisco Alvarez’s solo homer in the ninth gave the Mets a 4-3 victory.
Seranthony Domínguez (3-4) allowed both game-ending home runs. Baltimore started the day with a half-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees, who were set to play Cleveland across town Wednesday night.
“It feels like it’s a playoff game, the atmosphere,” Mendoza said. “You know who you’re playing.”
Acquired from Washington in a July 28 trade, Winker came back from 0-2 to a full count and hit a 98 mph fastball to left-center for his second walk-off homer in the majors.
His 12th home run of the season was his second as a pinch hitter and the sixth of his career.
“On a personal level, it’s probably one of my favorite things I’ve done,” Winker said.
The excited outfielder threw his helmet to the ground and stopped to flex towards New York’s dugout before beginning his run around the bases. He paused again between third base and home plate, then finally joined his thrilled teammates for the celebration.
“I saw it go over the fence and I blacked out,” Winker said, laughing. “I have no other answer than that. It was a full blackout moment for me.”
Adley Rutschman’s sacrifice fly tied the game for the Orioles in the eighth inning, just after pinch-hitter Ryan O’Hearn was ejected by plate umpire Marvin Hudson following a strikeout with the bases loaded and no outs.
“We didn’t turn a couple double-play balls that hurt, but we got three hits,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “Tough to win a major league baseball game getting three hits.”
Manaea was one strike away from completing six perfect innings when he hit Jackson Holliday behind the shoulder with a 2-2 fastball, causing the crowd to quiet down.
Austin Slater hit the next pitch to right field for a two-run homer that tied the game 2-2, ending the no-hit bid and the shutout at the same time.
“It’s hard not to think about that stuff,” said Manaea, who threw a no-hitter for Oakland against Boston in April 2018. “Definitely going through my mind.”
After giving up an infield single to start the eighth inning, Manaea was taken out. He allowed only three hits in his strong performance, striking out nine and walking none during his 90-pitch outing.
“It’s just the unique angle. He’s tall, across his body, kind of Chris Sale slot,” Hyde said. “He’s throwing a ton of strikes, and we just had a tough time getting hits against him.”
The left-hander has pitched seven innings in four of his last five starts, though this was the first time all season he worked into the eighth. He received a standing ovation from the 32,871 fans on a beautiful afternoon in Queens and blew a kiss as he headed to the bench.
