Mets' Ronny Mauricio delivers walk-off base hit in 10th inning to beat Diamondbacks
The Mets mob pinch-hitter Ronny Mauricio after his walk-off single in the 10th inning defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Ronny Mauricio was under no delusions when he was called up for an injured Juan Soto Tuesday: Playing time might be limited. He was there to provide versatility.
What he did was provide the Mets with a win.
In his first at-bat since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, Mauricio hit a walk-off 10th inning single off Paul Sewald as the Mets beat the Diamondbacks, 4-3, at Citi Field. Bo Bichette’s ground out moved ghost runner Francisco Lindor to third to lead off the inning.
Down by a run in the eighth, Jorge Polanco singled off Jonathan Loaisiga to lead off the inning, and was lifted for pinch-runner Tyrone Taylor. With one out, Brett Baty rocketed a grounder up the middle that took a tough hop and skipped past a diving Geraldo Perdomo to put runners on the corners for a red-hot Jared Young, who skied a ball to the warning track to tie the score at 3.
The Mets loaded the bases with no outs in the first, behind three straight two-strike hits from Lindor, Bichette and Polanco. Luis Robert Jr., who’s been one of the team’s best hitters with runners in scoring position, struck out swinging, but Baty was able to muscle a ball to left despite strong winds, bringing a run home with a sacrifice fly and a 1-0 lead.
The Mets tacked on another in the second when Francisco Alvarez drew a two-out walk to bring up Lindor, who laced a double to a wall in right. Alvarez ran through the stop sign at third, but Corbin Carroll made a poor throw, missing the cutoff man and allowed the unearned run to score.
Freddy Peralta cruised until the fifth, when he loaded the bases with two outs on a single, a walk and a hit by pitch, summoning Huascar Brazoban from the bullpen. Brazoban looked to have Adrian Del Castillo struck out looking on a changeup, but ABS deemed otherwise. Del Castillo made the most of his second life, muscling a changeup to right for a game-tying, two-run single. Nolan Arenado then looped a ball to the no-man’s land in shallow right center, driving in Gabriel Moreno with the go-ahead run.
Peralta was charged with three runs and three hits, with three walks and five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
