– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEW YORK — After excruciatingly losing a late-game lead, and possibly on their way to a momentum-crushing defeat, the New York Mets needed a baserunner in the ninth inning, and Francisco Álvarez, facing a 3-0 count, was one errant pitch away from the strike zone from being that guy to get the rally going. Was this the time to let the young starlet loose, or let him take a pitch and possibly be a rally starter with a bases on balls.
Álvarez was given that green light, and he indeed started the rally … by ending the game in one mighty swing.
The Mets catcher crushed a solo home run with one out in the ninth inning for his first-ever walk-off hit, a blast that gave New York a 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles inside Citi Field to begin a crucial stretch of 10-games against teams in playoff positions in the Majors. The 22-year-old free-swinger does not find himself in too many 3-0 situations, facing just the eighth plate appearance all season going ahead by that count as he went up against Orioles closer Seranthony Dominguez.
But entrusted by Mets manager Carlos Mendoza to swing the bat in the count, Álvarez sent the ball 421 feet into the left-centerfield bleachers as he posed, shouted and jumped up and down soon after he put the charge into the ball and into the stands at a raucous Citi Field.
“I was thinking, swing the bat and hit the barrel,” Álvarez said. “I knew it was [gone]. I put the bat on the ball. … I feel very excited, because the Orioles are a pretty good team. We beat them.”
The Mets beat the team that came into Monday tied for the American League East lead only after strangely blowing a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning. Mets starter David Peterson was one out away from completing the seventh, but, after striking out Colton Cowser for the second out, was called for a balk before his at-bat against Ramón Urías, allowing Ryan Mountcastle to score from third to cut New York’s lead in half.
On the very next pitch, Urías homered to center to tie the score at 3-3, and though Peterson recovered to strike out Jackson Holliday to end the half-inning, the starter had to settle for a no-decision in a game that was so close to becoming another gem from a Mets starter.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Roberto Carlo. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 27 pictures in total.
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