Leave it to the Polar Bear to lift the Mets’ ice-cold offense.
A game-tying, ninth-inning home run by Pete Alonso helped the Mets split what, to that point, had been a dismal doubleheader, setting up a 2-1 win against the Detroit Tigers in Thursday’s second game at Citi Field.
Alonso’s clutch solo shot to lead off the ninth, followed by Tyrone Taylor’s walk-off single three batters later, fueled the Mets’ first victory in six games this season, helping them avoid their worst start in more than 60 years.
“We definitely needed that one,” said Alonso, who recorded the 500th RBI of his career with the homer. “Hopefully we can carry this momentum.”
Alonso’s 403-foot blast to left-center and Taylor’s game-winner both came against Tigers reliever Alex Faedo, completing an improbable comeback in a game in which the Mets went hitless through seven innings.
Tigers starter Matt Manning pitched 5.2 of those hitless frames before giving way to reliever Tyler Holton, who recorded four more outs before Harrison Bader’s single against him led off the eighth.
Bader’s single ended a 13-inning hitless streak for the Mets that dated back to the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader, which they lost, 6-3, in 11 innings.
Alonso’s home run, meanwhile, ended a 14-inning scoreless streak. Brett Baty walked in the next at-bat, moved to second base on a Starling Marte bunt, and scored when Taylor lifted a 3-2 slider down the left-field line.
“It felt good,” said Taylor, whom the Mets acquired in a December trade with Milwaukee. “I’m just happy to help the team win and happy we got the first one out of the way.”
With the offense floundering before the ninth-inning rally, the Mets remained in the game thanks to starting pitcher Jose Butto, who allowed one run in six innings, and reliever Reed Garrett, who hurled three scoreless frames.
The win was the first in the managerial career of Carlos Mendoza, whom the Mets showered with beer and champagne in a celebration afterward.
“Nice to get the first one, finally,” Mendoza said. “We should’ve had it earlier, but that’s baseball. About to get swept there in a doubleheader, with [what] seems like not much going offensively … it feels good, obviously, to get the first one out of the way.”
Thursday’s second game played out completely differently from the first, when the Mets offense froze and the bullpen blew a late lead.
Starting pitcher Adrian Houser, whom the Mets acquired with Taylor in the Brewers trade, began his team debut with five scoreless innings and was up 3-0 when he left with runners on the corners and no outs in the sixth.
Detroit scored its first run on an Andy Ibanez sacrifice fly against reliever Brooks Raley in that inning, then added another on a wild pitch by Jake Diekman in the seventh.
The Tigers tied the game, 3-3, on a Riley Greene home run against Adam Ottavino in the eighth, then rallied for three runs in the 11th, eliciting boos from a sparse crowd on a chilly Queens day.
Colt Keith’s RBI double and Gio Urshela’s two-run single in the 11th came against reliever Michael Tonkin, who previously surrendered five unearned runs in the 10th inning of Monday’s 5-0 loss to Detroit.
The 0-5 start marked the Mets’ worst since 2005 and tied for the third worst in franchise history.
“I’m just happy we’re able to turn the page,” Alonso said. “Any game that you can win in the big leagues is a big deal, especially when you split hairs at the end of the year. It doesn’t matter if it’s at the beginning or at the end or in the middle, every game matters just the same.”
Tuesday and Wednesday’s games were rained out, setting up Thursday’s single-admission doubleheader.
A loss in Thursday’s second game would’ve meant the Mets’ worst start since 1963, when they began 0-8 and finished 51-111. The worst start in Mets history came during their debut season in 1962, when they started 0-9 and finished 40-120.
The Mets no longer have to worry about matching that notoriety as they begin their first road trip of the year, starting Friday night in Cincinnati. Jose Quintana (0-1, 3.86 ERA) is set to pitch for the Mets against the Reds’ Hunter Greene (0-0, 3.86).
