From the jaws of defeat: Winker, Lindor and the bullpen steal one for Mets' third straight win

Mets 3 Blue Jays 2 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 5-3

Mets streak: Won 3

WP - Edwin Diaz (1-0)

LP - Nick Sandlin (0-1)

Seat on the Korner:

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

Jesse Winker had two triples. The first was his first regular season triple since 2021. But his second was the big one: A two run triple to tie the game in the 8th inning off lefty Brendon Little to tie the game at 2-2 and set up Francisco Lindor's walk off sac fly in the ninth to give the Mets their third straight win.

Winker also added a double to give himself a 3-for-4 night.

Need to Know

Luis Torrens was a last minute scratch with a forearm issue after being hit with pitches multiple times there yesterday. Hayden Senger started in his place. (Glenn Sherlock told our own Mark Rosenman yesterday that he expected that Brett Baty would be the emergency catcher if the situation came to that.) Torrens came in the game after Senger was pinch hit for in the 7th and got a base hit to extend the 9th inning rally.
Lindor's sac fly to end the rally and the game was his 7th career walk off RBI.
Griffin Canning was victimized by a high pitch count, pitching into the fifth but being pulled after 89 pitches. Canning went four innings and gave up a run on four hits and three walks while striking out six.
Chris Bassitt had another great start against his former team, giving up just four hits and striking out 9 with no walks in 6 and 2/3's shutout innings. Bassitt has not giving up a run to the Mets since leaving them after 2022.
Juan Soto's base hit in the 8th gave him an 8 game on-base streak to start the season.
The Mets bullpen came into the game with a 1.40 ERA, which was the second lowest in the league. They gave up one run in five innings tonight.
Mark Vientos' single in the 7th snapped an 0-for-17 stretch, and it was also the Mets' first single of the series. It also marked the last batter that Bassitt would face.

Turning Point

Sometimes you manage on feel. Letting Jesse Winker hit against a lefty when Winker is a career .210 hitter against lefties was certainly a hunch.

But was it really a hunch? Or was it Carlos Mendoza choosing the Winker/Little matchup over a potential Tyrone Taylor matchup with Nick Sandlin, a sidearmer? He said as much post game, and said that he chose this matchup as lefties were seeing Little really well. (Little faced five batters in the 8th, and three of them reached base.) It worked, and it changed the game.

Three Keys

Francisco's Winning Ambush

It's no secret that Francisco Lindor is in the midst of another slow start. But in the most important at-bat of the game, Lindor set up the ambush on closer Jeff Hoffman to bring the Mets the victory.

Lost in this will be Lindor's walk to start the 8th inning rally which ended with Winker's triple. Despite his .160 average to start the season, Lindor doesn't seem as lost as he has in past seasons. Tonight gave us some clues that he's coming, and that his process stays on the right side.

The Rest of the Ninth

Jose Siri has never been known as a guy that works counts. But he had two walks tonight, and the one in the 9th led to the winning run.

Luis Torrens was a late scratch because of a bruised forearm. He was pressed into service as Mendoza sent up Starling Marte in the 7th to pinch hit for Senger with the bases loaded and two outs down 2-0. But his base hit which followed Siri's walk put the pressure on the Blue Jays and set up first and third with one out. Those were important contributions from two unlikely sources (whether by injury or reputation) to set up the victory.

The Bullpen is In Lockdown Mode

The bullpen had to do some heavy lifting tonight after Canning was pitch counted out of the game. After Canning gave up a couple of baserunners, Jose Butto came in and gave up a single to Vladimir Guerrero to give up a run. But after that, Butto negotiated around a walk to prevent the damage from being too great.

Then after Butto got in trouble in the 6th, Huascar Brazoban came in to help him out and pitched 2 and 1/3 strong innings. Brazoban is having a great start to the season, and seems to be the poster child for what you can be as a pitcher after a spring with the lab.

And for good measure, Edwin Diaz in the ninth.

Diaz wasn't perfect but he, along with Brazoban, still have their 0.00 ERA's intact. DIaz being a full season away from his injury will definitely help him this season. The entire bullpen should be proud of themselves, and specific to tonight: Butto, Brazoban and Diaz should be very encouraged by their work.