Diamondbacks, familiar foe Mets to duel in the desert again

Francisco Lindor's three-run home run gave the Mets the breathing room they needed Monday, but the agility he showed to prevent a potential stolen base in the ninth inning was a major talking point after New York's 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

The two teams will meet for the fifth time in eight days on Tuesday, then conclude their season series Wednesday. They have split the first four games.

On Monday, with the Mets up a run in the bottom of the ninth, Alek Thomas reached base on an error by New York first baseman Pete Alonso. Two pitches later, Thomas took off from first in an attempt to steal second off closer Edwin Diaz, and Lindor had to sprawl to his left to snag catcher Francisco Alvarez's throw and tag out Thomas. The play survived a replay review and helped preserve a win after Lindor's homer had staked the Mets to a 5-1 lead in the seventh.

"Unreal," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "Not an easy one, overall. For Alvy not giving up after the runner gets a huge jump. Lindor, not only picking the baseball but sticking his nose and applying the tag there. Pretty unbelievable."

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo liked his chances.

"I don't want to give away any of our secrets," Lovullo said of the Thomas attempt. "But we identified that their closer, we could potentially steal some bases off of him. And you know, there's a time and a trigger. ... We just got a late jump, a super, super late jump."

On Tuesday, right-hander Zac Gallen (2-4, 4.93 ERA) will oppose Mets left-hander David Peterson (2-1, 3.06).

Alonso hit his ninth homer and added a single Monday, raising his batting average to .349 and his OPS to 1.143.

"To be honest, I just feel like I'm in my mechanics consistently," Alonso said. "I just have good body control right now."

The Mets learned Monday they will be without designated hitter/outfielder Jesse Winker for six to eight weeks due to a Grade 2 right oblique strain, Mendoza said. Brett Baty was recalled after a short stay at Triple-A Syracuse to fill the roster spot and could see time at second and third.

Gallen made one of his best starts of the season in a 4-2 victory over the Mets in New York last Thursday when the Diamondbacks took the rubber contest of that three-game set.

He gave up one run on only two hits while striking out eight in six innings. The only damage came on Juan Soto's one-out homer in the sixth inning to cut the Arizona lead to 2-1. The only other hit Gallen allowed was a first-inning single by Alonso.

Gallen has pitched well in his eight career starts against the Mets. He is 1-2 with a 3.41 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 37 innings. His numbers are skewed by a 7-1 loss in September 2023, when he gave up seven runs (six earned) in five innings.

Peterson made one of his most efficient starts of the season in his most recent outing against Arizona, an 8-3 victory on April 29. He gave up one run on five hits in five innings for his first decision in six career appearances against Arizona. His ERA in those games is 4.50.

--Field Level Media