Pete Alonso hit a home run and Luis Severino grabbed his first win as a pitcher for the New York Mets, stopping the Kansas City Royals’ seven-game winning streak with a 6-1 victory on Friday night.
Brett Baty smacked a two-run double, and all five of the Mets’ runs came with two outs against Royals starter Michael Wacha. New York got double-digit hits for the fourth game in a row and has won six of their last eight games after starting the season with five losses.
“We’re finding our groove. We’re sticking together and playing the game the right way. We’re not a team that can breeze through games,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor. “Now, we’re playing every inning with the right mindset.”
After a successful 7-0 stretch at home, which was the longest winning streak in the majors this year, the Royals were aiming for their first eight-game winning streak since July 2017.
Salvador Perez hit a home run for the Royals, marking their first game at Citi Field since June 2016. The previous year, they clinched their second World Series title there.
Severino (1-1) managed to get through five innings despite giving up four walks. It was his third start for the Mets after signing a $13 million contract with them in December, having previously played eight seasons with the Yankees.
“He kept us off balance. We couldn’t get solid contact,” said Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro. “We had some opportunities with the walks when he lost control a bit, but we couldn’t capitalize.”
The only hit Severino allowed was a leadoff homer by Perez in the second inning. He struck out four batters, including Bobby Witt Jr. with two runners on base to finish the fifth inning after a 12-pitch walk to Adam Frazier.
Four Mets relievers combined for just three hits. Jeff McNeil had three hits out of New York’s 14, following a 16-hit performance in their previous game against Atlanta. “We’re winning games as a team, and our confidence is growing. We’re all coming together, and we’re playing well,” said Baty.
Harrison Bader singled against Wacha (1-1) with two outs in the third inning, then stole second base before scoring on Brandon Nimmo’s double.
New York strung together four consecutive singles with two outs in the fourth inning, with McNeil and DJ Stewart driving in runs. Baty’s double over center fielder Kyle Isbel’s head extended the lead to 5-1 in the fifth inning.
“It’s always great when our offense performs like that,” said McNeil. “We had some tough at-bats.” Wacha allowed 10 hits and two walks in six innings. Alonso’s home run in the eighth inning came on a 0-2 pitch from Will Smith.
“They got some crucial two-out hits. Those can be tough to swallow, especially when they come with two strikes and two outs,” said Quatraro. “But if you only manage one run, it’s going to be hard to win.”
