


The rookies gave the Mets a chance, and their leader took them home.
Mark Vientos — making his season debut — drilled a game-tying home run in the eighth. Francisco Alvarez crushed a three-run, game-tying home run in the ninth.
And in the 10th, with the Mets down two, it was Pete Alonso’s turn.
Alonso crushed his fourth-career walk-off home run in a wild, 10-inning, 8-7 win over the Rays at Citi Field on Wednesday night.
David Robertson had allowed two runs in the top of the extra frame, but the Mets responded against Rays closer Pete Fairbanks.
Jeff McNeil singled ahead of Alonso’s dinger to left, which concluded a remarkable comeback for a team that has been looking for pop.
They wanted pop. They needed energy. More than anything they needed runs, and that’s what Vientos, called up earlier in the day, and rookie catcher Alvarez provided.
The Mets (21-23) will go for a series victory against MLB’s best team Thursday afternoon after a disappointing split with the NL East’s worst team (the Nationals) this weekend.
The Mets overcame their bullpen allowing six runs in four innings because their bats finally came through.
In the ninth, the Mets roared back thanks to one swing. Down by three, Daniel Vogelbach walked and Starling Marte was hit by a pitch.
With two outs, Alvarez crushed a no-doubter, 426 feet to left, and watched it go. The rookie catcher took a few moments, flung his bat high in the air and began a slow trot in front of 29,695 stunned fans.
They needed it because Brandon Lowe had crushed a two-run homer off Adam Ottavino in the eighth, a gut-punch for a team that was riding high an inning prior.
In the seventh, Vientos enjoyed his moment. Down two in the seventh, Mark Canha got hit by his third pitch of the season. Buck Showalter kept the righty-hitting Vientos in the game against righty Ryan Thompson with lefty Brett Baty available on his bench.
Vientos rewarded his manager’s faith by turning on an 0-1 slider and launching it to center field, just out of the reach of Jose Siri’s glove, to tie the game.
Kodai Senga was electric, dominant and occasionally wild for six innings, which tied a career high. Against the best offense in baseball, Senga also reached major league career-highs in strikeouts (12) and pitches (104), navigating around traffic on the bases by striking out everyone in sight.
Senga held the Rays to 1-for-8 with five strikeouts with runners in scoring position. Tampa Bay hitters continually mounted threats and continually walked slowly back to their dugout.
Wander Franco (walk, steal) reached second base in the first inning, only for Senga to retire Randy Arozarena and Lowe. In the sixth, Franco (walk, steal) again reached scoring position, and Senga reached back to strike out Arozarena, get a foul out from Isaac Paredes and froze Taylor Walls for his final out. A pumped-up Senga pounded his glove and clapped as he walked off the field.
Senga’s only blemish arrived in the fourth inning, when Lowe and apparent Mets-killer Paredes, who launched a pair of homers a night prior, drove back-to-back doubles for the first run of the game.
Even then, Senga bounced back quickly after a wild pitch moved Paredes to third with one out. Senga used an upstairs forkball to sit down Walls and a sweeper to strike out Luke Raley and escape further damage.
He gave the Mets a chance, and they finally took advantage of it.