The Mets received clutch efforts from Tylor Megill, Brandon Drury and Jeurys Famila through eight innings Wednesday night, but it all might have been for naught without Michael Conforto’s right arm.
The right fielder saved the Mets’ 2-1 win over the Braves in the ninth inning, throwing a perfect strike to catcher James McCann to gun down the potential tying run and send Citi Field into a madhouse.
“Best feeling in the world,” said Conforto, who helped get Edwin Diaz off the hook after the closer allowed a leadoff double. “I’m still sort of shaking from it right now. It’s an awesome moment, another incredible team win.”
Drury had come off the bench to put the Mets ahead in the seventh inning, crushing a pinch-hit home run off Braves starter Max Fried.
Tylor Megill set the stage for Drury’s homer, tossing 5 ¹/₃ strong innings of one-run baseball, and Jeurys Familia made sure it stood up by coming out of the bullpen to put out another fire in the eighth inning.
But the Mets (54-46) saved the most dramatic moment for last. With Abraham Almonte on second with one out in the ninth, pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza cracked a one-out single to right field off Diaz. Almonte raced from second to home, but Conforto unleashed a perfect throw to McCann, who slapped on the tag for the second out.
“I was in the dugout and I about screamed my lungs off because something like that is just so big,” Megill said. “I mean, I blacked out. That’s so huge.”
Diaz then got pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval to fly out to left field to secure the win.
With the win, the Mets (54-46) evened the series two games apiece heading into Thursday’s finale and pushed their lead atop the NL East to four games over the Phillies and five games over the Braves (50-52).
Drury’s winning blast off was just the latest addition to his red-hot week. Since being called up from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, Drury is 6-for-6 with two home runs and two doubles. He was also 3-for-3 Tuesday after double-switching into the game in the fourth inning.
Overall this season, Drury is 7-for-15 with three home runs as a pinch hitter.
“He came back up and he’s immediately delivering for us every time we’ve put him in the game,” manager Luis Rojas said. “He’s worked really hard to be like he is right now.”
The Braves had tied the game at one in the sixth inning on a solo shot from Austin Riley, the lone blemish on Megill’s night. Riley’s third homer in two nights snapped Megill’s scoreless streak at 17 ¹/₃ innings, but the right-hander continued to impress and give the Mets some much-needed consistency.
Megill, who struck out six, walked one and gave up five hits, has now allowed one or no runs in each of his last five starts — joining Dwight Gooden as the only other Mets rookie to accomplish the feat. On his 26th birthday, Megill lowered his ERA to 2.04 in the first seven starts of his MLB career.
“His demeanor helps him make adjustments and cruise through tough lineups like this one,” Rojas said. “He doesn’t shy away from attacking any hitter. I think that’s why he’s been so effective for us.”
Megill chipped in offensively, too, with a two-out single sparking a third-inning rally. He came around to score on Jeff McNeil’s RBI single for the 1-0 lead that extended McNeil’s career-high hitting streak to 15 games.
Familia later entered in the eighth to protect the 2-1 lead, but faced a challenging spot with runners on second and third with one out. He came through again, striking out Riley on a sinker in the dirt before getting Dansby Swanson to ground out to end the threat.
“Honestly, my sinker this year feels like it’s the best it’s ever been in my career,” Familia said.
