PHOENIX — The Mets have waited all season for Francisco Lindor to become a presence from the No. 2 hole in the lineup. Just maybe this latest surge can be taken seriously.
Wednesday it was Lindor’s third hit of the afternoon that put his team in position to win a game that was hanging in the balance. Lindor singled in the ninth, advanced to second on center-fielder Ketel Marte’s error, took third on a passed ball and scored the go-ahead run on Pete Alonso’s single in a 7-6 victory over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
The Mets (27-21) escaped with two victories in three games in the series, but lost another player: Jonathan Villar departed with right hamstring tightness, a potential blow to a team already stacked with injury-list casualties.
Lindor finished with three hits in five at-bats and is 9-for-23 (.391) over his last five games. This latest three-hit game was only his second of the season, as he raised his average to .209 — its highest level since April 27.
“I’m back to being an offensive player, I am helping the team,” Lindor said. “It makes you feel good helping the team, not just defensively but offensively.”
Lindor said he was thinking double right out of the box in the ninth, even before Marte’s misplay that allowed him a chance to reach second. After James McCann was retired, Alonso delivered with his fifth RBI in three games since leaving the injured list.
“I was going two [bases] no matter what,” Lindor said. “Yeah, he dove for it and the ball went past him, but out of the box I am thinking two, especially in that situation with McCann being really hot and Pete doing what he does. If I get to second my chances of scoring are really good.”
Lindor’s approach has impressed manager Luis Rojas.
“The one thing I’m seeing more now is he’s using the big part of the field,” Rojas said. “I think that is giving him a chance. Is he going to pull the ball? He’s going to pull it naturally because his swing is like that and he has power, but I think he has gone back to trusting the ball to the big part of the field.”
Edwin Diaz rebounded from his first blown save of the season, the previous night, by working a perfect ninth.
The Mets spotted David Peterson four runs before he set foot on the mound, but the left-hander retired only one of the seven batters he faced in the worst outing of his career. Peterson was charged with five earned runs on three hits and three walks, forcing Robert Gsellman into the game to record the final two outs of the first inning. Gsellman took the Mets to the fifth.
Peterson hadn’t pitched in nine days because of postponements and a reconfigured rotation, and said the layoff might have affected him.
“Any time you get off routine like that it has an effect,” Peterson said. “But my job is to deal with that and go out and give the team a chance to win.”
After Carson Kelly walked leading off, Ketel Marte blasted a two-run homer that sliced the Mets lead to 4-2. Peterson then retired Eduardo Escobar, but Christian Walker’s single and consecutive walks to Pavin Smith and Nick Ahmed loaded the bases before Vargas’ two-run single tied the game, bringing the hook from manager Luis Rojas. Madison Bumgarner’s single against Gsellman brought in Vargas, the fifth run charged to Peterson.
The start was Peterson’s second against the D’backs within a month in which he failed to complete two innings. On May 7 at Citi Field, he lasted only 1 ²/₃ innings and allowed three earned runs on three hits and three walks. With this latest performance, Peterson’s ERA surged to 5.89, but the Mets have few alternatives with Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco still off in the distance in their rehabs. The Mets are hopeful Carrasco can return by the end of the month from a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since spring training.
McCann’s three-run homer was the big hit for the Mets in a first inning in which eight batters went to the plate against Bumgarner. The inning might have gotten more out of control if the left-hander didn’t get Brandon Drury to hit into a double play (which brought in the fourth run).
“It’s a huge win,” Rojas said. “We’re in the first inning, we have to take Peterson out with one out, it’s tough. … The bullpen really came through.”