OAKLAND, Calif. — Eduardo Escobar looked like he was finally going to break through with the big hit that had eluded him all season. But then Tony Kemp laid out to make a diving catch in left field, robbing Escobar of extra bases.
Again, in the ninth Escobar had a chance to be the hero for the Mets with the game tied at 3-3 and only one out. But the Oakland A’s went to the bullpen and Sam Moll (0-2) got the job done, getting Escobar to hit into a double play.
The Mets ultimately defeated the A’s 4-3 in 10 innings to complete their first sweep of the season, with a wild pitch by right-hander Zach Jackson scoring Escobar, of all people, in the 10th inning on Sunday afternoon at RingCentral Coliseum. Escobar was used as the ghost runner to start the inning.
The consensus in the clubhouse is that it was a solid “team win.”
“We pitched well, played great defense and we had some pretty big hits,” said Pete Alonso. “We executed when we needed to.”
It’s been a tough start to the season for Escobar and now his future with the Mets (10-6) is murky as the club is set to call up third base prospect Brett Baty for the next series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The callup cast a harsh spotlight on the veteran, who went 1-for-4 on the day to drop his average to .125 on the season.
However, Escobar’s double play ultimately didn’t matter in the win.
Manager Buck Showalter did not want to pitch Drew Smith and Adam Ottavino two days in a row, so he went to John Curtiss in the eighth with the Mets up 2-1. The A’s (3-13) plated two against Curtiss. The right-hander saw his streak of five straight games without an earned run come to an end when Shea Langeliers hit a two-run double to left field to take back the lead.
But the Oakland lead was short-lived, as Pete Alonso drilled one 430 feet off Dany Jimenez in the top of the ninth. It was his eighth of the season and it put him at the top of the league leaderboard.
“It was a fastball in my area,” Alonso said. “I was just happy I was quick and short to it.”
Alonso’s eight home runs ties him with Jeff Kent for the most in franchise history through 16 games.
“He’s just been off to an unbelievable tear,” said outfielder Brandon Nimmo. “He’s just picking right up where he left last season. It was Pete being Pete there, coming up clutch and keeping us in the game.”
David Robertson converted his fourth save of the season and his second in as many days, getting out of a jam in the 10th.
Making his first appearance of the season after being called up from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, Jimmy Yacabonis (1-0) also got himself into a two-on, none-out jam in the ninth. He got out of it with the help of Nimmo, who made a diving catch in center field.
It was Nimmo’s second catch like that of the day, with the first coming in the first inning with Jose Butto on the mound.
“I wasn’t sure if he had leather on the first or the second one,” Showalter said. “I didn’t think he had any chance. But those were two good plays.”
Tommy Pham hit his second home run of the season and Francisco Lindor hit his fourth for the Mets (9-7). Jose Jose Butto was called up from Triple-A Syracuse to make his first start of the season. His pitch count was kept low thanks, in large part, to the defense behind him, which made a few stellar Butto escaped with only one run on five hits. He walked four and struck out two over five innings.
The first run for Oakland was courtesy of Kevin Smith, who took him deep for a solo shot in the fifth to tie the game.
Denyi Reyes came on in relief of Butto with one on and none out in the sixth inning. It was an eventful inning, but Reyes got out of it and tossed one more to keep the lead intact for Curtiss.
Pham’s home run came off left-hander JP Sears in the second inning. Lindor broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with one off of Sears as well, driving a 1-2 fastball into left-center field in the sixth inning. Lindor extended his hitting streak to six games with the home run, his second of the series.
“It was three kind of different games,” Showalter said. “You always like when you get on the good side of it.”
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Source: Berkshire mont
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