Mets eke out win in Texas after losing late lead

June 7th, 2017

ARLINGTON -- The Mets scratched across an unearned run vs. Rangers closer Matt Bush in the top of the ninth and pulled out a 4-3 victory at Globe Life Park on Wednesday night.
The win gave the Mets a split of their two-game series, and the Rangers have now lost 12 of 16.
started the rally with a one-out double off Bush and was replaced by pinch-runner Matt Reynolds. Bush struck out for the second out, then walked .
followed with a soft line drive up the middle that second baseman grabbed on one hop on the outfield grass going to his right. He went to second for the force but bounced his throw.
Shortstop appeared to handle it, then dropped the ball and Granderson was ruled safe. Reynolds kept on running and scored easily with the go-ahead run on what was ruled an error by Odor.
"[Reynolds] never slowed down, and that's what you gotta do," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "That's one of the reasons why we ran him, in case there was some play where you just got to have a little extra step, and Matty did a nice job of going hard the whole way."
The Rangers challenged the call on the grounds that Andrus held on to the ball long enough, but the call was upheld by replay.
"It was going to be a tough play," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "I don't think we had a play at first base. The only play was at second base, and we didn't come up with it cleanly. I think if he brings the ball out of the glove cleanly, he's out."
After hot start, Bush facing adversity
The Mets took a 3-1 lead into the eighth on a pair of home runs by and seven strong innings from starter Zack Wheeler. But the Rangers tied it up in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out single by and a home run by .

Wheeler providing much-needed reliability for Mets
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Two hits, two home runs: The Mets didn't get a baserunner for three innings, and they had only two hits through six innings. Those two hits, however, were home runs by Bruce off . The first came in the fourth inning, a two-run shot that barely made it past the right-field wall, and the second home run was a solo shot in the sixth inning. This is the fourth time this year Bruce has hit multiple home runs in a game, and the 25th time in his career.

"Big night for Jay, and we needed it," Collins said. "You looked up and you had two hits, and fortunately they were both home runs, so we're very, very lucky. He's really good, and we'll take a big night, enjoy our day off and get ready for Atlanta."

Chirinos ties it up: After being stymied by Wheeler for seven innings, the Rangers finally broke through in the eighth. Mets reliever came on for Wheeler, and he got and Andrus out to begin in the inning. But Mazara singled, and Chirinos took Blevins deep to left field for his sixth home run of the year, evening the score at 3.
QUOTABLE
"I thought Yu threw the ball really well. He made two mistakes to Bruce, but other than that, he was in control. He had good life on the fastball, and the slider was swing-and-miss." -- Banister, on Darvish

REPLAY REVIEW
After loading the bases with no outs in the first, Mazara was ruled out at first on the back end of a 6-4-3 double play. Banister challenged the call, and it was overturned after a review of 1 minute, 27 seconds; the Rangers had their first run. With the successful challenge, Banister was 15-for-25 this season before losing the challenge on Odor's error in the ninth.

WHAT'S NEXT
Mets: New York sends right-hander Matt Harvey (4-3, 5.43) to the mound in Atlanta on Friday to begin a four-game, three-day series with the Braves. First pitch is at 7:35 p.m. ET. Harvey is 17-18 with a 3.58 ERA in 46 career road starts, and he's 3-6 with a 4.76 ERA against the Braves in his career.
Rangers: Right-hander starts against the Nationals at 5:05 p.m. CT on Friday at Nationals Park. He's 1-2 with a 5.50 ERA in his past three starts and 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 12 outings (seven starts and five relief appearances) against the Nationals.
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