SEATTLE — Maybe the Mets should adopt a new philosophy: Play small to win big.
That’s what they did Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park to salvage a series against the Seattle Mariners. The Mets staved off a sweep with a 7-1 win, doing everything right that they usually do wrong.
“We needed that one,” said manager Carlos Mendoza.
They put traffic on the bases, something they’ve struggled to do in most of their 35 losses, with the bottom of the lineup helping out the top. They had timely hitting, pulled off a double-steal to keep a four-run fourth inning going, and got a quality start from Freddy Peralta.
Bo Bichette snapped a 0-for-14 streak by going 4 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored. His two-run single off right-hander George Kirby sparked a rally in the fourth.
“Kind of a typical game from Bo when he’s going well,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to spread the ball around, he’s going to hit line drives. With a runner at third and the infield in, he hits a sac fly. It was a very good day for him.”
It was a very good day for just about everyone on the Mets. Jared Young had a two-hit game, Carson Benge continued to produce at the top of the order, and at the bottom, A.J. Ewing went 3 for 5 with a run scored and a stolen base, and Luis Torrens, the No. 9 hitter, went 2 for 4 with a double and scored twice.
It’s how the Mets (27-35) envisioned themselves playing before the season began and things went awry.
For the Mariners (33-30), it snapped a season-long streak of eight straight wins. It marked the team’s first home loss to the Mets since 2017.
“Every win is important, especially where we’re at,” Mendoza said. “It was good to bounce back, and it was a quick turnaround after a tough game last night.”
Tied 1-1 after the first inning, the Mets made Kirby work, putting runners on in the second and third innings before pulling ahead in the fourth. With one out, MJ Melendez walked and Luis Torrens singled to right to bring up the top of the order. Benge, who homered twice in a loss the night prior, flared an opposite-field single to left, loading the bases for Bichette.
He singled up the middle, getting the ball past a diving J.P. Crawford at shortstop, scoring Melendez and Torrens.
“I got decent pitches to hit and I hit them hard,” Bichette said. “Maybe some of them I didn’t, I just like that I got hits.”
It was after Juan Soto reached on a force-out that the Mets made things interesting. With runners on the corners, Soto swiped second and Benge stole home. It was about as clean a double steal as you’ll see. The Mariners challenged the safe call at second, but it was upheld after a review. Benge was safe either way, pushing the Mets ahead 4-1.
Jared Young kept the inning alive. He caught a lucky break when the ball hit the first base bag, bouncing away from first baseman Josh Naylor and into right field for an RBI double.
Kirby (5-5) was charged with five runs (four earned), giving up nine hits and walking one, while striking out five. The Mets kept the pressure up on the Seattle bullpen, taking a run off Eduardo Bazardo in the fifth, and one off Alex Hoppe in the eighth.
Peralta (4-4) limited a tough Seattle lineup to one earned run on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts. The six-inning outing was badly needed for an overworked bullpen.
“I was able to get two double plays in big moments,” Peralta said. “The slider is working pretty good now.”
Peralta has made some adjustments to his slider in recent weeks that aren’t exactly major, but could provide a major payoff.
“We’ve been putting a lot of work into it,” Peralta said. “I’m looking forward to it feeling comfortable for the rest of the season.”
The Mets used two high-leverage relievers in the seventh and eighth, going from left-hander Brooks Raley to right-hander Luke Weaver. Joey Gerber got the ninth. With an off day in San Diego on Thursday, they had the luxury of using some of their best back-end arms.
It’s not the first time the Mets have put together a complete win like this, but those games seem rare. Now that they know they’re capable of playing like this, they have to figure out how to do it more than a few times a month.