This 10-game stretch against playoff hopefuls might not be able to make the Mets’ season, but it could break it.
The only thing breaking on Wednesday might have been Jesse Winker’s spiked helmet.
Three games in, the Mets’ playoff hopes are not just intact but improving after Winker’s first blast with his new club became an enormous homer.
For a second time in three games, the Mets rode a walk-off home run — this time from Winker against Seranthony Dominguez — to steal a series from some heavyweights from the AL East.
Carlos Mendoza’s crew escaped with a well-played and significant 4-3 win over the Orioles, punctuated by Winker’s dinger to left-center that he admired before hurling his helmet to the ground and slowly rounding the bases.
A crowd of 32,871 at Citi Field watched the Mets take a strong first step of a three-series, 10-game gauntlet against clubs that likely will be playing in October.
With the home portion finished, the Mets (66-61) begin a four-game set in San Diego on Thursday before playing three in Arizona.
The Mets moved two games back of the Braves in the fight for the final NL wild card.
In a back-and-forth affair, the Mets took the lead on a Francisco Lindor home run, lost it on an Austin Slater two-run shot that ruined Sean Manaea’s no-hitter bid and the teams traded blows in the late innings.
Mark Vientos’ seventh-inning blast against Craig Kimbrel gave the Mets an edge that would not last.
In the eighth, Manaea allowed a leadoff, infield single before being pulled after 90 pitches.
Jose Butto, who was occasionally squeezed by home-plate umpire Marvin Hudson, entered and walked two to load the bases without an out.
What might have been disastrous became manageable.
Butto struck out Ryan O’Hearn before the tying run scored on an Adley Rutschman sacrifice fly.
With two on and two out, Butto won a long battle with Gunnar Henderson.
Edwin Diaz’s clean top of the ninth gave the Mets’ offense a chance in the bottom of the inning.
Manaea and the Mets had been in control — taking a lead in the third on Lindor’s home run and cushioning the edge in the fifth on an RBI ground out from J.D. Martinez that fortunately for the Mets was not a double play — until the sixth inning.
For 73 pitches, Manaea had worked on a perfect game.
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His ensuing bid at a no-hitter and shutout lasted for just one two-seamer.
With two outs in the sixth, a 2-2 fastball ran in on Jackson Holliday and drilled the No. 9 hitter, ending a streak of 5 ⅔ flawless innings.
With the next pitch, Slater pounced on a sinker and crushed it the other way, clearing the right-field wall to tie the game at 2-2.
In lasting seven innings for a fourth time in five tries, Manaea had to settle for mere excellence.
He allowed three runs on three hits without a walk and struck out nine.