NY Mets 4, Toronto 3
When: 7:10 PM ET, Monday, June 15, 2015
Where: Citi Field, New York City, New York
Temperature:
63°
Umpires:
Home -
Marty Foster, 1B -
Mike Muchlinski, 2B -
Mike Winters, 3B -
Mark Wegner
Attendance:
22172
By The Sports Xchange
NEW YORK -- A homestand that began in the most ignoble fashion possible for the New York Mets might be turning into a defining statement about their resiliency and ability to contend in the National League East.
Shortstop Wilmer Flores' two-out RBI single Monday night capped a stunning 11th inning comeback by the Mets, who snapped the Toronto Blue Jays' 11-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory at Citi Field.
It was the third comeback win and second of the walk-off variety for the Mets on a homestand that began last Tuesday with San Francisco Giants right-hander Chris Heston no-hitting New York in a 5-0 win.
"How did it start? Who did we even start (against)?" asked left fielder Michael Cuddyer, who scored the tying run in the 11th.
Reminded of the no-hitter, Cuddyer laughed.
"Oh that's right," Cuddyer said. "Put that out of my mind. That right there speaks to the resiliency -- and I'm not blowing smoke up your butt, I really didn't remember. We talked about it that night, baseball players having to have a short memory."
Six days later, the Mets are assured of having no worse than a .500 record on the eight-game homestand. Cuddyer's ninth-inning RBI single on Thursday capped a pair of comebacks and allowed New York to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Giants with a 5-4 win.
On Sunday, the Mets trailed 8-3 in the fourth before knocking off the Atlanta Braves, 10-8.
On Monday, the Mets squandered a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning when Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista hit a leadoff solo homer. They fell behind 3-2 in the top of the 11th on a sacrifice fly by catcher Dioner Navarro.
"They're huge wins, especially when you fall behind like we did," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "This is like three games this homestand we've come out of nowhere to win games. It just builds tremendous confidence in the clubhouse that it can be done."
The winning rally began when third baseman Ruben Tejada worked a one-out walk against Blue Jays left-hander Brett Cecil (1-3). Cuddyer followed with a slow roller to second, and Tejada remained in the basepath long enough so that Danny Valencia only had enough time to tag him.
First baseman Lucas Duda then worked the count full against Cecil before lofting a single to shallow left. Cuddyer ran around third as Ezequiel Carrera, playing deep in left field against the powerful Duda, raced in for the ball.
But his throw was cut off by third baseman Josh Donaldson, who bobbled it as Cuddyer slid in with the tying run.
"When you're in that situation, 3-2, two outs, you just bust it until you have to stop," Cuddyer said. "Fortunately, didn't have to stop."
Flores then hit reliever Liam Hendriks' first pitch sharply up the middle for his second walk-off hit of the season and the third of his career.
"We're not giving up," Flores said. "I think that's what good teams do."
The comeback made a winner of right-hander Hansel Robles (1-1) and ensured the Mets would finish the homestand in first place in the NL East. New York moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Washington Nationals by virtue of the Nationals' 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Bautista had two homers for the Blue Jays (34-31), who were trying to set a franchise record with a 12th straight win, Toronto also won 11 in a row in 1987, 1998 and 2013.
"I'm proud of these guys -- it's tough to do 11 in a row," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said, "It's a tough one because it was right there and you have the lead but it didn't happen."
Both starters pitched well in a no-decision.
Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard, who was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2010 and signed with them exactly five years ago Monday, allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out a career-high 11 over six innings. He retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced, including 10
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Toronto
|
5 |
2 |
12 |
.135 |
11 |
14 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
| NY Mets
|
6 |
0 |
9 |
.158 |
8 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
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