DENVER _ Finally, the Mets benefited from a Diaz blown save.
The Mets rallied in the ninth inning against Rockies relievers Jairo Diaz and Joe Harvey for a 7-4 win Wednesday. Brandon Nimmo had the tying single off Diaz. After Harvey entered, Pete Alonso got the go-ahead RBI on a bases-loaded walk and Seth Lugo added a run-scoring, line-drive single to center between his two scoreless innings.
With a series win, the Mets (79-73) moved to 3 { games back of a National League wild card spot, pending the results of the Cubs' and Brewers' games later Wednesday. Their elimination number remained at eight with 10 games left.
Noah Syndergaard _ pitching to Rene Rivera, one of his preferences instead of Wilson Ramos _ was mediocre again. He allowed four runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking two. That battery also allowed four steals _ including two by Garrett Hampson in the sixth, leading to the Rockies' fourth run.
Half of those runs came on a pair of solo homers from Sam Hilliard, a rookie who entered the game hitting .195 since debuting three weeks ago. Hilliard and Syndergaard are both from Mansfield, Texas, and were separated by two years at rival high schools.
Hilliard is the first major-leaguer to hit two home runs in one game against Syndergaard.
The Mets had a difficult time with Rockies righthander Jeff Hoffman, who yielded two runs in 5 1/3 innings. That lowered his ERA to 6.71 from 7.03.
In the first, Jeff McNeil homered into the second deck in right. In the sixth, Alonso hit his major league-leading 49th homer to left. Alonso is three dingers away from tying Aaron Judge's rookie record of 52.
That gave the Mets 225 long balls on the season, a franchise record, passing the 2017 Mets' total of 224.
Alonso had multiple hits in each of the Mets' three games at Coors Field after his career-worst 0-for-21 drought that extended into Monday. Two other items on Alonso's growing list of accomplishments: He tied the franchise record for extra-base hits in a season (80) and set the Mets rookie record for hits (148).
