Everything comes up Mets as they complete 1st sweep of '26
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NEW YORK -- When the Mets fell behind by three runs in the first inning Thursday, it took only a few innings for Brett Baty to punch back with a game-tying, two-run homer. When New York put a runner in scoring position one inning later, it took just two batters for Juan Soto -- sore ankle and all -- to knock him home for the go-ahead run.
From those clutch hits to Nolan McLean’s seven strong innings to Hayden Senger’s run-scoring safety squeeze in the sixth, the Mets -- the same Mets who held Major League Baseball’s worst record as recently as three days ago -- are suddenly getting things right when they need them. They’re playing fun baseball again. They’re experiencing success.
Their 9-4 win over the Tigers, powered by Baty, Soto and Mark Vientos (to name just a few), capped their first series sweep of the season at Citi Field, while also marking the third time in franchise history they’ve come back from multiple runs down in every game of a sweep of at least three games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Things didn’t begin swimmingly for McLean, who allowed a three-run homer to Gage Workman in the first. But A.J. Ewing led off the third inning with his first career homer, and Baty tied things with a two-run shot in the fourth. One inning later, Carson Benge continued to spark the Mets with a single and a replay-aided stolen base, which allowed him to score easily on Soto’s single up the middle.
Vientos followed with a two-run homer and Soto and Marcus Semien added solo shots in the seventh and eighth, respectively, turning this into a relatively breezy afternoon for the Mets. It helped that after manager Carlos Mendoza deployed all his high-leverage relievers in Wednesday’s victory, McLean shook off a rocky start to complete seven innings for the second time this season. That saved the bullpen.
It also helped that Soto, who had to exit Wednesday’s game after fouling a ball sharply off his right ankle, healed well enough overnight to return to the lineup the following day. Soto’s multihit effort was his second in three games.