QUEENS, NY — The Houston Astros scored five runs in the top of the 11th off newly-recalled reliever Matt Festa to defeat the New York Mets 10-5 and take the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday at Citi Field
The Mets overturned a 4-0 deficit by scoring twice in each of the sixth and seventh innings. Mark Vientos ripped a two-out, two-run double in the sixth before Brandon Nimmo, who broke an Astros no-hit bid to lead off that sixth inning, lasered a two-run home run with two outs in the seventh to knot things up.
But after a nearly three-hour-long rain delay between the top and bottom of the ninth, Mets magic appeared to run out.
They were unable to walk it off in the bottom of the frame and while Nimmo tied things back up in the bottom of the 10th with a double for his third RBI of the day, Houston went to work on Festa, who had been called up from Triple-A just hours earlier after the team sent Tylor Megill and Danny Young to the minors.
Jake Meyers put the Astros up for good with a one-run single before Joey Loperfido broke it open with a two-run single of his own to make it 8-5. Trey Cabbage put the exclamation point on Houston’s big inning with a two-run double.
Throwing a bullpen game, Astros relievers Shawn Dubin and Bryan King managed to no-hit the Mets for the first five innings of Sunday’s affair before Nimmo broke the snide with a clean single off Seth Martinez to lead off the sixth — the same inning the Mets plated pair of runs to cut their deficit in half.
In the seventh against Houston’s Bryan Abreu, Luis Torrens led the frame off with a walk before Jeff McNeil struck out and Francisco Lindor flew out. Behind the count 0-2, Nimmo jumped on a 97-mph fastball up in the zone, taking it the other way into the left-field seats to equalize.
Nimmo’s 13th home run was also the 100th of his career, becoming just the 16th player in Mets history to hit a century’s worth of round-trippers with the club.
Mets starter Luis Severino went seven innings in the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and a walk.
Astros first baseman Jon Singleton opened the scoring in the second inning when he lifted a solo shot to right-center — a high fly ball that got carried by blustery conditions that foreboded the storm.
Houston tacked on two more in the fourth when Yaimer Diaz’s RBI single scored Alex Bregman, who led the inning off with a double. With runners at the corners, Jake Meyers’ grounder to short scored Yordan Alvarez from third to put the visitors up three.
Francisco Lindor dropped a blooper behind shortstop off the bat of Mauricio Dubon to lead off the fifth inning. Dubon would come in to score two batters later when a Jose Altuve blooper dropped beyond the reach of the Mets’ star shortstop to make it 4-0.
Nimmo got the Mets’ first hit of the afternoon to lead off the sixth inning with a clean single to center— the first batter that Martinez faced — before Pete Alonso doubled to put runners on second and third. Vientos salvaged the inning with a two-out double down the left-field line to halve the Mets’ deficit, 4-2.
All the while, Severino kept his pitch count low enough to alleviate the strain on a shorthanded Mets bullpen that is without Edwin Diaz and Drew Smith. He entered the seventh inning at 68 pitches and despite encountering a jam to put runners at second and third with two outs, he escaped the frame with just 11 pitches and 79 total with an assist from Altuve.
The Astros star second baseman topped a 1-1 sinker for a slow grounder to third. While Vientos fielded the ball and threw to first, Altuve never ran, claiming that the ball hit his foot. Home plate umpire James Jean, manning behind the plate for the first time in his career, disagreed and after a conference with his crew, upheld the call.
An incensed Altuve, who had already had a tough day when he forgot how many outs there were in the fifth inning and was doubled off first base following a flyout, was ultimately ejected from the game.
Adrian Houser pitched two scoreless innings in relief but after getting the final out of the top of the ninth inning, the tarp came on the field with expected inclement weather on the horizon. Within moments of the tarp getting on the field, the heavens opened up to delay the game.
The loss provides a sour end to what was a brilliant June for the Mets, who went 16-8 to erase a disastrous May, get back into the thick of the National League Wild Card race, and hit the exact halfway point of the 2024 season one game under .500 (40-41).
