Mets squeak out 3-2 win over Rays with splendid pitching, timely hitting

The Mets scratched out a 3-2 win over the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays in their series opener on Monday night.

Here are the takeaways…

— Making the most out of his opportunity with New York this season, Robert Stock put together the best start of his career against the Rays, recording his first major league win since 2019 and his first win ever as a starting pitcher.

The 36-year-old, able to flip the switch after a terrible start against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field in which he allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits in four innings his last time out, was at the top of his game and managed to shut out the team with the best record in the AL for 5.1 innings.

— As if that wasn’t impressive enough, it was also the first time Stock has thrown a pitch in the sixth inning as a starter. Of course, the right-hander has only made nine starts in his career (six of them coming this year), but if it wasn’t for interim manager Andy Green taking him out after just 72 pitches (50 strikes), Stock could’ve been out there even longer.

— The excellent outing by the right-hander also came in the midst of a low-scoring affair with New York clinging to a 1-0 lead. Stock was put to the test in the fifth inning when a fly ball single and a ball deflected off of Bo Bichette‘s glove at third put the first two batters on. Stock’s unlucky streak in the inning continued when Francisco Lindor, who made a nice play to end the third inning, couldn’t come up with an easy ground ball tailor made for a double play which loaded the bases with nobody out.

— But Stock didn’t flinch at all and kept going, getting a pop out and a strikeout for the first two outs of the frame. With a chance for the right-hander to exit the inning unharmed, Jonathan Aranda lined a ball to left field that had trouble written all over it, but the former Ray Christopher Morel, not known for his glove, made a beautiful leaping grab to end the inning and save three runs. Morel made another great play in the sixth with an outfield assist at second base.

— For good measure, Stock went back out for the sixth and struck out home-run hitter Junior Caminero as the icing on the cake of a well-deserved outing which lowered his season ERA to 5.88.

— Offensively, the Mets didn’t have much luck in the beginning against Rays starter Ian Seymour who struck out seven batters his first time through the lineup. New York was able to put runners on first and third with nobody out in the fourth thanks to a leadoff double by Bichette and a single by Carson Benge and eventually pushed across a run on Mark Vientos‘ double play.

— That was it for the Mets until the seventh inning when Vientos, in his first game back from the IL, led off with a solo home run off Seymour to double the team’s lead. The home run was Vientos’ 12th of the year and came after he hit three in his final rehab game for Triple-A.

A single later in the inning by Morel chased Seymour out of the game and brought in Casey Legumina who Marcus Semien greeted with a pop fly single that landed in no-man’s land. Francisco Alvarez came through with an RBI single two batters later which gave New York a 3-0 lead.

— Daniel Duarte gave both of those runs back in the eighth with his third straight appearance in which he’s been scored upon after nine straight scoreless appearances and a superb showing as the eighth inning guy.

— Kodai Senga then came in for the save in the ninth of a one-run game and shut the door for Stock and the Mets, earning his fifth save in five tries.

— Every single starter in the lineup had at least one hit, except for Lindor who went 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot. A.J. Ewing had two hits.

Game MVP: Robert Stock

The veteran journeyman recorded his first win in seven years.