Starling Marte had spent more than a month seeking an extra-base hit, had slipped to No. 6 in the order, was putting in extra time in the batting cage and could not find his power stroke.
So in this week of Mets magic, of course, it was Marte’s blast that put the club over the top.
Marte’s eighth-inning home run bailed the Mets out in a 5-4, comeback victory over the Guardians on Sunday at Citi Field in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Mets (24-23) won their fourth straight — each win by one run — and moved over .500 because their bats have been relentless through rally after rally.
It was Francisco Lindor’s walk-off, 10th-inning single that keyed Friday’s victory and Pete Alonso’s walk-off homer that sparked the Mets in the 10th on Wednesday.
This time, Marte did not wait for extra innings.
After the Mets’ bullpen blew a 3-0 lead in the top of the eighth, Brett Baty walked to put the tying run on base in the bottom of the inning. Marte, who had not had an extra-base hit since April 14, blasted a four-seamer from Trevor Stephan over the right-field wall to set off a celebration for the 39,995 on hand.
“This has been a battle for the last couple of weeks,” Marte said through translator Alan Suriel after his first homer since April 7. “Day in and day out, we’re starting to get closer to where we want to be.”
Marte, who has been a slow starter after offseason groin surgeries and a neck issue that hampered him in April, has begun to show signs he can become the offensive force he was last season.
True to the afternoon’s theme, Marte’s dinger showed especially strong resilience after he had been picked off first base in the fourth inning, caught napping while he put his sliding glove on his hand.
“He cares,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Some of the conversations behind closed doors … you get to know a guy. It means a lot to him.”
The Mets needed Marte because two of their best relievers blew the lead.
Adam Ottavino, handed a 3-0 edge, allowed one run to score on a Tyler Freeman double and a couple of ground outs. He allowed a second run on a double from Steven Kwan and an infield single from Amed Rosario.
In came closer David Robertson, whose third pitch of the game became a two-run home run to Jose Ramirez that put the Mets in a short-lived hole.
“Hats off to [Ramirez],” Robertson said after his first blown save of the season. “He’s an exceptional hitter. I threw my best pitch [a knuckle curve], and he hit it. Gotta regroup.”
He regrouped. Robertson authored a comeback himself when he reemerged for the ninth inning and pitched around an infield single from Gabriel Arias.
Robertson blew his first game, but also became the game’s winning pitcher.
The game’s starter, too, had to bounce back from adversity that came in the form of a split callus on his right thumb.
Max Scherzer had to rely more on guile than gas because he pitched through pain that affected his velocity (which was down) and his pitch selection (with far fewer fastballs).
Still, Scherzer gutted through six scoreless innings in a second encouraging outing in a row, as he attempts to put neck spasms, discomfort below his right scapula and the 10-game sticky-stuff suspension behind him.
He pitched with raw skin and used a heavy dosage of sliders, curveballs and changeups, allowing just three hits. No Guardians reached second base against him.
“It’s like playing basketball with a sprained ankle,” Scherzer said of his finger, which he said would not affect him in his next outing.
The Mets spotted Scherzer and the staff three runs with an RBI single from Eduardo Escobar, a sacrifice fly from Gary Sanchez and a home run from Brandon Nimmo.
They would need a few more, so they spun their wheel of fortune and landed on a player who had been searching for his moment and his swing.
“It’s awesome. This team’s been grinding, Marte especially,” Robertson said. “He needed that one — we all needed it.”
