Coors Field produced a snoozefest late Wednesday night, until the ninth inning, then Mets bats came to life in a 5-3 victory.
The perceived offense-heavy ballpark was the site of a pitching duel for most of the night. But Francisco Lindor came through in the ninth to put the Amazins ahead for good. With the bases loaded and the game tied at two in the top of the ninth, Lindor lined a clutch two-RBI single to left field to give them a 4-2 lead.
The shortstop’s second hit of the night was the big bang the club was waiting for throughout the game, but they didn’t stop there. Jesse Winker added an insurance run after Lindor with an RBI single to left making it 5-2 Mets.
Paul Blackburn turned in a strong performance in his second outing as a Met, keeping the Rockies’ bats at bay and keeping his club in position to win the game. The 30-year-old threw six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out six. The only damage came off the bat of Ezequiel Tovar, who hit a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning.
Blackburn produced his second quality start in as many tries with his new side.
The Rockies opted for a bullpen matchup on Wednesday and it was effective for most of the night. Ryan Feltner was the opener, allowing a run on a Pete Alonso RBI single in the first inning. Noah Davis was the main man, surrendering just one run in four innings of work. Colorado used seven pitchers in total and only Victor Vodnik allowed significant damage in the ninth, giving up three runs.
Jose Butto came on in relief of Blackburn and threw scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth as the righty’s contributions in the bullpen continued. Edwin Diaz took the ball in relief against Butto in the ninth with the club leading, 5-2. After allowing a leadoff triple, Diaz retired the next three batters to secure the save that gave the Mets a series-clinching victory. He gave up a run on Jake Cave’s groundout but it didn’t matter in the end.
David Peterson (3.47 ERA) will take the ball for Mendoza’s squad on Thursday to try to clinch the series victory. Austin Gomber (4.66 ERA) will take the ball for Bud Black’s squad in the rubber game.