Patrick Mazeika, making his season debut, hit the tie-breaking homer in the seventh inning Saturday night as the New York Mets edged the visiting Seattle Mariners 5-4 in the middle game of a three-game series.
The win gives the Mets a chance to extend their franchise-record, season-opening unbeaten series streak to 11. New York has won nine series and split one.
The Mariners fell to 4-9 this month.
The Mets carried a 4-1 lead into the seventh, when J.P. Crawford and Eugenio Suarez singled with one out against Seth Lugo. Jesse Winker — who was booed all weekend by the Citi Field crowd — greeted Chasen Shreve with a three-run homer.
But Mazeika, who was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse when starting catcher James McCann went on the injured list Friday, hit his second career homer down the right field line on the first pitch from Andres Munoz (1-1) in the bottom half.
Adam Ottavino (1-1) was credited with the win after he allowed a single to Luis Torrens but stranded him at third in the eighth. Edwin Diaz, who collected 109 saves for the Mariners from 2016-18, dispatched his former team by striking out the side to earn his eighth save.
Starling Marte finished a homer shy of the cycle and scored three runs for the Mets. He scored on an RBI single by Francisco Lindor in the first, a sacrifice fly by Lindor in the third and a double by Pete Alonso in the fifth.
Jeff McNeil had a sacrifice fly in the third.
Mets starter Chris Bassitt allowed one run on five hits and three walks while striking out eight over 5 2/3 innings.
Steven Souza Jr. had an RBI single off Bassitt in the sixth. Torrens reached base in all four plate appearances (two singles, two walks) while Winker and Ty France had two hits apiece.
Mariners starter George Kirby, pitching about a half hour south of his boyhood home in Rye, N.Y., allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk with one strikeout over four innings.
–Field Level Media
