[ad_1]
NEW YORK — With the New York Mets trailing late in the game on a chilly, wet Saturday night, Pete Alonso prophesied to his teammates, “We’re going to have great at-bats and we’re going to win this game.”
Hearing Alonso’s words, Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos and Brett Baty each swapped confident looks at one another as if to say in response, “Yeah, we’re going to win this game.”
Across the league, that kind of sentiment gets shared inside dugouts plenty of times late and close. The difference with the Mets?
“We really believe it every time,” Lindor said.
And why shouldn’t they? After making a habit of coming from behind to snag victories last season, the Mets pulled off another at Citi Field, where they beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2. Jose Siri scored on Lindor’s sacrifice fly with one out in the ninth to win it.
Clutch 🔥 #MetsWin #LGM pic.twitter.com/xmTsyR73ub
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 6, 2025
It was the Mets’ first walk-off of the season.
But they’re already used to it.
They returned so many key contributors from last year’s roster, the group is qualified to host lectures on the topic of resiliency. Perhaps the trait sticks for a while.
“We have a group of guys that are going to compete, that are going to fight,” Lindor said.
Beyond makeup or experience in situations, there are sound reasons why the Mets — who also came from behind just a few days ago in Miami — look well-positioned for come-from-behind wins.
Having Juan Soto in a deep lineup helps.
Lindor put it best. When asked why he, the team’s leadoff batter, was comfortable swinging at the first pitch from Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman in the ninth inning, Lindor said, “You look at our lineup, you see Soto, Pete, (Brandon Nimmo), Vientos, it’s like, if I don’t get it done, they’re going to get it done.”
Having relievers capable of pitching multiple innings helps.
Mets starter Griffin Canning is learning how to pitch differently. He’s essentially pitching backward, using his fastball the way pitchers normally tend to use secondary pitches. Hitters are catching on quickly, though. So his pitch count crept up in his second start. By the fifth inning, he had thrown 83 pitches. He failed to record an out in that frame. The Mets overcame the short start because Jose Butto (1 2/3 innings) and Huascar Brazoban (2 1/3 innings) supplied length. The Mets also have Reed Garrett and Max Kranick they can deploy similarly in a bridge to others such as closer Edwin Diaz.
Having Carlos Mendoza as manager helps.
Mendoza, in his second year, uses all kinds of information to make decisions before and during games. He also uses feel. He allows the game some room to inform his action. In the eighth inning Saturday, Mendoza stuck with Jesse Winker, who bats from the left side, against lefty reliever Brendon Little. Last season, the Mets permitted Winker just four plate appearances against lefties. Mendoza stuck with him Saturday instead of using Tyrone Taylor off the bench (Starling Marte previously batted in the game) because he liked Winker’s at-bats and watched his other lefties (Soto and Nimmo) see the ball well against Little. Winker hit a two-run triple to tie the score.
A handful of reasons have helped position the Mets as the kind of team capable of mounting comebacks. Perhaps that’s why so many stuck around (37,694 was the announced attendance) despite the temperature hovering below 50 degrees and the lack of offense through the first seven innings. The crowds from the first home series resembled the crowds late last year: They sang, they chanted and they even purposely prematurely counted down the pitch clock to try to disturb opposing relievers. Then they watched the Mets win.
With a wide smile, Mendoza said of the crowd, “Nice going.”
(Photo of Francisco Lindor: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
[ad_2]
Source link