A few hours before first pitch Tuesday, the Mets weren’t thinking about ending their latest seven-game losing streak. The day was devastating, no matter what were to happen that night.
When Sandy Alderson informed the team his cancer returned, the clubhouse was filled with silence and sadness. The eyes of the general manager — and many of the stunned players — were filled with tears.
“Definitely an emotional start, unexpected for us,” Michael Conforto said. “Sandy’s a part of our team. He’s one of us.”
It seemed as if it couldn’t get any worse. And when the Mets left the field Tuesday night, they felt like it wouldn’t.
On what likely will become the final day of Alderson’s near-eight year tenure as general manager, the emotionally charged Mets avoided matching their worst losing streak of the season, and pulled out a 4-3, 10-inning win at Citi Field on Wilmer Flores’ latest walk-off hit.
Ending the Mets’ four-game home losing streak with a single down the third base line, Flores has driven in the winning run in each of the Mets’ three walk-off wins this season, and is also now tied with David Wright for the most walk-off RBIs (nine) in Mets history.
“You see his name coming up in the lineup, and let’s just hang on until Wilmer gets up there,” said Conforto, who hit the tying home run in the seventh, and scored the winning run. “He’s been amazing. … He’s so good in those big situations. His heartbeat must be very, very low. He’s the guy that we lean on, and he’s been great for us.”
Flores, who memorably cried on the Queens field after nearly being traded by Alderson in 2015, said there was no pressure hitting in the familiar spot. Playing after hearing Alderson’s diagnosis wasn’t as simple.
“He’s one of us,” said Flores, who also drove in the game’s first two runs. “It was tough today, being out there playing.”
Staked to a 2-0 lead, Steven Matz, who matched a season-high with seven innings pitched, sprinted through the first four innings without allowing a hit. Then, however, the southpaw gave up four hits — and two runs — to open the fifth and allowed a go-ahead homer to Gregory Polanco in the seventh inning.
“We’re all here because he believed in us,” Matz said of Alderson. “For me, personally, especially now under these circumstances, I want to prove that he was right. There was definitely extra emotion out there hearing that news.”
After Conforto delivered his 10th homer of the season, Jeurys Familia escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, when he nearly caused a benches-clearing brawl with his angry objection to a Josh Harrison slide into second.
No punches were thrown — until Flores’ knockout blow.
“We wanted to make sure we bounced back today, of all days, and play a little bit better,” Conforto said. “We showed a little fight there. We battled back. … Hopefully, this sets us on the right path.”
Reliever Tim Peterson earned his first career win, and has a 1.69 ERA in his first seven games (10 ²/₃ innings).
Brandon Nimmo wasn’t in the starting lineup for the second straight game, due to an injured right pinkie finger, but he pinch-hit for Steven Matz in the seventh inning and fouled out to third.
David Wright took batting practice for the second straight day. … The Mets recalled pitcher Gerson Bautista, and optioned infielder Luis Guillorme to Triple-A Las Vegas.
