NEW YORK — If Wednesday represented the low point of the 2024 season for the Mets, the tough ascent began one night later.
After a day when the Mets caved, saw Jorge Lopez melt down following an ejection and a team meeting called, the Mets responded with a rousing 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in front of a 20,926 fans Thursday night at Citi Field.
If Wednesday's result against the Dodgers was the low point, then there was plenty of room for the Mets to go up.
In a stretch where numerous losses have been decided by runs in late-game situations, J.D. Martinez was able to stem the tide with a clutch hit of his own. Martinez's eighth-inning solo home run off Dbacks reliever Ryan Thompson, which narrowly cleared the wall in straightaway center field, gave the Mets the lead for good.
Martinez called Wednesday's players-only session one of the more productive team meetings he's been a part of in his 14-year career. And the positivity came with it for at least one night.
"The way everyone interacted and how we all left, it wasn't kind of one of those meetings where it's just kind of, 'OK, we got to be better,'" Martinez said. "It was, 'No, let's start having fun again and start enjoying this. We lose, we lose.'
"We're putting the pressure on ourselves. I think it's clear as day. We're in every single game and it's been a struggle toward the end. Yeah, it tells me that those are things you can turn quick."
Of the Mets' last nine losses, six have come by two runs or fewer or in extra innings. The one-run victory helped the Mets snap a three-game skid and improve to 23-33. It was the first series opener that they have won since May 6 against the Cardinals.
Francisco Lindor takes charge with 431-foot HR
One day after leading the charge to call the team meeting following a 10-3 loss to the Dodgers and a sweep, Francisco Lindor held up his end of the bargain with his bat
Lindor collected nearly half of the Mets' nine hits, including a 431-foot home run to left-center field off a high fastball by Diamondbacks reliever Brandon Hughes. He also evened the score with an RBI single through the right side to make it 2-2.
"It felt good to contribute to a team win," Lindor said. "This is not about being the main character of the team meeting. That's not what it's about. Anybody could have had a good night tonight and I would've been happy. It just worked out that it was me."
The Mets shortstop led by example, finishing 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, a run and a stolen base.
"It means a lot, not only they got together and said a lot of things but they went out there tonight and showed it," manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Pete Alonso, who made a dramatic return as a pinch hitter a little more than 24 hours after being hit by a pitch in his right hand, doubled in his lone at-bat and scored the tying run.
"I did some strength testing with the trainers, and pretty much they were like, whatever you can tolerate, you got the green light with whatever you feel comfortable doing," Alonso said. "I was really happy with how everything responded in such a short matter of time again."
Christian Scott, Mets relievers grind
In his fifth start of his major league career, Christian Scott showed some grit.
The Diamondbacks extended at-bats against the Mets rookie right-hander but could only collect two runs on a two-run double by Ketel Marte in the top of the third inning.
Otherwise, Scott stranded a pair of runners in scoring position. The Dbacks fouled off 25 of Scott's 91 pitches to run him deep into counts. Scott finished with two earned runs allowed on four hits and one walk while striking out four across five innings.
"The sweeper for strikes was huge to righties and the split for strikes was big to lefties today," Scott said. "And then the fastball at the top of the zone and make them beat me with it. I'm going out there and I'm gonna throw my stuff. I'm going to try to pound the middle of the zone, limit free baserunners and see what happens after that."
A patchwork effort down the stretch helped the Mets bullpen bounce back.
Adrian Houser came on in the sixth inning and gave the Mets an opportunity to come back. He worked around a one-out walk by getting Lourdes Gurriel to ground into an inning-ending double play. Then after Suarez reached on a one-out error and moved to third on a stolen base and wild pitch, Houser picked up back-to-back strikeouts.
Danny Young, who was called up after Lopez was designated for assignment, tossed a perfect eighth to grab the victory. Reed Garrett worked around a leadoff walk to nail down his third save in the absence of Edwin Diaz.
Moving past the Jorge Lopez drama
When the dust had settled from a chaotic Wednesday afternoon, Lopez was no longer a member of the Mets.
The Mets designated Lopez for assignment on Thursday, less than 24 hours after he tossed his glove into the crowd following an ejection and showed no remorse for his actions in a postgame media scrum.
"Yeah, look, when you're not playing well, guys will show emotions," Mendoza said. "There's frustrations, but there's a fine line and yesterday, we went over that line. And we're not going to tolerate that."
On Instagram, Lopez apologized to his "teammates, coaches, fans and the front office." The 31-year-old reliever also clarified one of his remarks after there was confusion whether he said "worst team" or "worst teammate" in Major League Baseball.
"During that interview, I spoke candidly about my frustrations with my personal performance and how I felt it made me 'the worst teammate in the entire league,'" Lopez said. "Unfortunately, my efforts to address the media in English created some confusion and generated headlines that do not reflect what I was trying to express."
Mendoza said that he and David Stearns had spoken with Lopez prior to his postgame interview, which Lopez had refuted. The Mets will now have seven days to trade or release Lopez. They can outright him to the minor leagues if he is not claimed.
