Mets Get a Win, and Key Pitchers Get Some Rest
PHOENIX — When Mets Manager Mickey Callaway went to Carlos Gómez, he delivered. Same for Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman.
Gómez snapped a tie with a pinch-hit double during the Mets' bizarre two-run eighth inning, sending them to a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.
Lugo and Gsellman each got three outs after Zack Wheeler (5-3) allowed four runs in seven innings. Gsellman recorded his first save of the season.
“Grateful for the opportunity, and got the job done,” Gsellman said.
Lugo and Gsellman got the call because the primary setup man Jeurys Familia and closer Edwin Díaz needed a day off.
“Taking care of our players and putting them in a good spot is always something that we’re going to think about, as well as winning,” Callaway said.
“Thank goodness Wheeler stepped up and went seven for us. Now, we’re caught up. We felt like if we had pitched them today, we would be trying to catch up for another week. Lugo and Gsellman stepped up big time and got the job done.”
Adeiny Hechavarría had two hits and two R.B.I. for the Mets, and Wilson Ramos and Todd Frazier each had two hits.
Arizona lost its fifth straight game, matching a season high. Christian Walker and Ketel Marte homered, but the Diamondbacks were unable to hold on after taking a 4-3 lead.
Frazier and Hechavarría sparked a winning rally with consecutive two-out singles off Matt Andriese (3-4), putting runners on first and third.
The pinch-hitter J.D. Davis then hit a chopper toward the mound that bounced off Andriese’s glove as he reached up. Marte, the second baseman, could not handle the ball cleanly as the tying run scored.
Gómez followed with a grounder inside the bag at third that drove in Hechavarría, but the ball boy stationed down the line — Arizona uses seniors called “Golden Glovers” — fielded the ball thinking it was foul, and Davis was not permitted to score.
“It doesn’t matter if you start the game or not, you have to be ready,” Gómez said.
The Diamondbacks trailed by 3-1 before scoring three times in the sixth.
Marte opened the inning with his 13th homer. Adam Jones singled with one out, and Walker connected for a 447-foot drive into the second deck of the left-field bleachers. Walker finished with three hits and two R.B.I. after going 4 for 34 on Arizona’s 10-game trip that ended Thursday.
“Another grinding loss,” Arizona Manager Torey Lovullo said. “I can’t put my finger on exactly why it was happening. We put ourselves in a good position to win this game. We just couldn’t execute and close the deal.”
The Mets scored three runs in the second inning, during which play was halted for several minutes when plate umpire Jim Wolf was forced to leave after being struck by a foul ball in the mask.
Michael Conforto led off with a walk against Jon Duplantier in the pitcher’s first major league start. Ramos singled before Wolf left during Frazier’s at-bat. When play resumed, Frazier dumped an R.B.I. single into center and Hechavarría doubled to center for a 3-0 lead.
Duplantier permitted six hits and threw 77 pitches in five innings. He was on a pitch count after topping out at 65 in his last start at Class AAA Reno.
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