NEW YORK — Of course, the reeling team that had lost 12 of its last 15 games and seemed to be trending toward another season of irrelevance would find a way to beat one of the best teams in baseball that was starting perennial Cy Young Award contender Max Scherzer.
Behind a solid start from Marco Gonzales and the timely hitting of Ty France, the Mariners picked up an unexpected 2-1 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field.
Gonzales pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts. The performance is that much more impressive considering Gonzales threw 48 pitches in the first two innings.
He allowed a single, a double and a sac fly, which required a diving catch by Julio Rodriguez in center, to start the game. After walking Pete Alonso, Gonzales retired the next two batters to end the inning. A 14-pitch battle with Jeff McNeil that ended with an infield single to start the second inning elevated Gonzales’ pitch count quickly. But he retired the next three batters to close out the inning.
The Mariners tied the game at 1 in the fourth inning, scoring their only run off Scherzer. France was hit by a pitch with one out, advanced to third on J.P. Crawford’s single and jogged home on Jesse Winker’s hard single to right-center.
Gonzales was clearly irked with himself when he couldn’t close out the full seven innings. After retiring the first two batters of the seventh with easy fly outs, Gonzales walked No. 9 hitter Thomas Nido, the Mets light-hitting backup catcher. With left-handed hitting Brandon Nimmo coming to the plate, manager Scott Servais left Gonzales in the game for one more hitter. It appeared like Gonzales had gotten another flyout to end the inning. But Nimmo’s short flyball to center couldn’t be caught on Rodriguez’s sliding attempt.
With runners on second and third, Servais went to his best reliever in the key situation. Right-hander Paul Sewald, who pitched four seasons for the Mets, came and struck out Starling Marte to end the inning.
France drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning with an RBI single off right-hander Drew Smith.
