Noah Syndergaard was untouchable, but it was Wilmer Flores who saved the day. The first baseman blasted a walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and take the rubber game of the three-game series.
It was Flores’ third career walk-off home run.
“I try to stay calm, not rush things,” Flores said. “I wasn’t trying to hit a homer, it just happened.”
Flores’ blast capped a day highlighted by Syndergaard, who looked like he was throwing wiffle balls with the movement on his pitches, striking out 11— including eight straight at one point — while allowing just two hits over 5.1 innings.
The Mets ace even had a no-hitter through four, but a high pitch count, courtesy of 29 pitches in the first inning, led to an early departure with one out in the sixth.
The Mets turned to Robert Gsellman, who put two men on to load the bases and failed to get much help from his defense. Gsellman got Hernan Perez to ground to short, but Amed Rosario’s throw short-hopped Flores and two runs scored.
Brandon Nimmo pulled the Mets back into a tie in the bottom half of the sixth with a leadoff home run to make it a 2-2 game and Jerry Blevins worked out of a crucial jam in the seventh inning, getting Travis Shaw to ground out with the bases loaded.
The Mets had plenty of chances to break the game open, leaving 12 on base. In two innings, they left the bases loaded.
PLAY OF GAME
With two outs in the ninth and extra innings looming, Flores ripped a 1-2 sinker into the left-field seats for a walk-off home run that improved the Mets’ record to 12-2.
TURNING POINT
Jerry Blevins came in with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning to face cleanup hitter Travis Shaw and got him to ground out to first to end the threat and keep the game tied.
STAR OF GAME
Syndergaard. The Mets ace was electric, allowing just two hits and striking out 11, including eight consecutive batters, for the 13th double-digit strikeout game of his career.
STAT OF THE DAY
8. The eight straight strikeouts from Syndergaard are tied for second most in Mets history with Jacob deGrom, who did it on Sept. 14, 2014 against the Marlins. Tom Seaver holds the franchise and MLB record with 10 strikeouts in a row on April 22, 1970 vs. the Padres.
UNSUNG HERO
Blevins. He faced only one batter, but it was the most important at-bat of the game: he got Shaw to ground out and end a bases-loaded threat in the seventh to keep the game tied.
M.I.A.
Yoenis Cespedes was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and left five on base.
UP NEXT
Monday vs. Nationals, 7:10 p.m., Jeremy Hellickson (0-0, 0.00) vs. Jacob deGrom (2-0, 3.86), TV: SNY.
