NEW YORK -- Historically inept when trailing late in games last season, the Mets continue to demonstrate an early knack for those exact types of situations this year.
Ronny Mauricio hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning on Tuesday to complete a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks, making the most of his first day back in the Majors.
Called upon to replace injured outfielder Juan Soto, Mauricio earned a pinch-hit opportunity when the Mets put the winning run on base with one out in the 10th. He quickly fell behind in the count, 0-2, before lacing his first career walk-off hit to deep right.
Trailing throughout the middle innings, the Mets tied the score when Jorge Polanco led off the eighth with a single and Brett Baty lined another hit past diving D-backs shortstop Geraldo Perdomo with one out. At that point, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza chose to remove the hot-hitting Mark Vientos in favor of a lefty bat in Jared Young, who came through with a game-tying sacrifice fly.
Last year the Mets were 6-69 when trailing after seven innings. This year they are 2-2 in those spots. They also improved to 2-2 in extra innings, playing four extended games in their first 11 contests.
Mets starter Freddy Peralta kept Arizona scoreless over the game’s first four innings, but he dialed up a high pitch count in the process. By the time Peralta allowed three consecutive batters to reach base with two outs in the fifth, his total was up to 101 pitches. Mendoza removed him at that point, but Huascar Brazobán allowed all three inherited runners to score, putting Peralta on the hook for his first Mets loss -- a fate he avoided thanks to New York’s eighth-inning rally.
The Mets scored two early runs off D-backs starter Zac Gallen on first- and second-inning rallies. They put just one other runner in scoring position until the eighth.