Pete Alonso's walk-off sacrifice fly gives Mets 4-3 win over Pirates

The Mets won in walk-off fashion on Monday night, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 4-3 thanks to Pete Alonso‘s sacrifice fly.

Here are the takeaways…

-New York got a taste of last year’s NL Rookie of the Year in Paul Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft who entered the contest with a 2.77 ERA, and the 22-year-old lived up to the billing.

Even with Skenes not at his best, particularly early in the game, the right-hander was still able to hold the Mets to just one run over six innings, despite dealing with traffic on the bases in five of those innings. In fact, New York got the leadoff man on three times in the first four innings but couldn’t do more damage against the youngster.

-The Mets broke through in the fourth inning after Brandon Nimmo led off with a screaming double off the wall in right-center before trading places with Jeff McNeil who hit his first double of the season down the right field line to tie the game at 1-1.

-Coming into the game, David Peterson was likely going to need to match Skenes for New York to have a chance and the left-hander did just that.

After a solo homer by Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the second inning, Peterson retired the next 10 hitters in a row before Jared Triolo ended that streak with a double in the fifth. A two-out single would put runners on the corners, but Peterson struck out Bryan Reynolds to end the inning and let out a burst of emotion heading off the mound as the game remained tied.

-A pitcher’s duel for most of the night, things got hairy once the bullpens were deployed. It started in the top of the seventh inning afterPeterson began the frame by walking the only batter he faced following a 10-pitch at-bat. Manager Carlos Mendoza turned to Jose Buttó after that, but he wasn’t able to strand the runner.

With a runner at second following a stolen base, Buttó was playing close attention and after throwing over twice he disengaged a third time without getting the baserunner who was then awarded third base. After a walk, Reynolds hit into a force out that scored a run that wouldn’t have had the runner stayed at second base.

-The Mets returned the favor in the bottom half of the inning, scoring the tying and go-ahead run thanks to three close plays that all went their way. First, after pinch-hitter Tyrone Taylor was hit by a pitch, he immediately stole second by getting his hand on the base just before the tag. Luisangel Acuña followed with an infield hit, beating the pitcher to first base by a hair, to put runners on the corners.

A Juan Soto groundout tied the game before Pete Alonso singled on a ball that was deflected by third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. With Acuña running, the speedster kept going after the deflection and slid into home plate before the catcher was able to slap the tag which gave New York its first lead of the night.

–Dedniel Nuñez pitched the eighth inning and was saved by Nimmo who robbed Joey Bart of a home run at the left field wall to start the frame. Nuñez ended up pitching a 1-2-3 inning in his third appearance since returning from the IL.

-Without Edwin Diaz, Mendoza turned to Huascar Brazoban for the final three outs, but the right-hander allowed a run on two hits and an error by Francisco Lindor. With runners on the corners, the Mets turned an inning-ending double play to keep the game tied.

-Right after making a costly error in the top half, Lindor reached base in the bottom half thanks to an error by Kiner-Falefa, Pittsburgh’s shortstop. That allowed New York’s offense to get to work with Soto hitting a single to put runners at the corners for Alonso who hit a sacrifice fly to give the Mets their fourth walk-off win of the season.

Game MVP: Luisangel Acuña

Even with just a 1-for-4 night, Acuña’s speed changed the game and allowed the Mets to come back the first time before Alonso won it for them in the ninth.

Highlights

What’s next

The Mets and Pirates continue their three-game series on Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Kodai Senga (4-2, 1.16 ERA) faces off against RHP Mitch Keller (1-4, 4.40 ERA).

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