Francisco Lindor homers twice as Mets salvage series finale with 8-2 win against Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — The Mets were thrown a curveball of sorts Wednesday morning when San Francisco Giants left-hander Blake Snell was scratched from his start and placed on the injured list with a left adductor strain.

With little time to alter their game plan, the Mets approach was simple: Control the strike zone and be aggressive against San Francisco’s young relievers.

It worked.

The Mets defeated the Giants, 8-2, to snap a three-game losing streak and finish the road trip with a 3-3 record (13-11 overall).

“It was a little bit of a whirlwind in the beginning of the day when we found out that Snell was out,” said outfielder Brandon Nimmo. “We had been preparing for that and then we get a bullpen day, which, honestly, those are more like spring training games because most of these guys, it was our first at-bats against a lot of them. So I was just really happy with how the guys came ready to go and really pivoted.”

Francisco Lindor went 4 for 5 with a pair of two-run homers to drive in four runs and score two. Tyrone Taylor went 2 for 3 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored and Jeff McNeil went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Left-hander Sean Manaea overcame erratic command to shut out his former team for 4 2/3 innings.

Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, struggled in his first three starts of the season. Still, the Mets expected his best. Instead they got opener Ryan Walker, followed by Sean Hjelle, Landon Roupp, Erik Miller, Luke Jackson, Taylor Rogers and Mitch White.

Hjelle was charged with the loss (0-1) after giving up homers to Lindor and Taylor. Lindor’s second round-tripper came off White in the ninth inning.

“We know he can drive the ball to all fields with authority,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Lindor. “Today, for him to have a game like that is good for him and for all of us.”

Lindor took Hjelle deep with two out in the third inning to put the Mets up 2-0. Taylor teed off for a solo shot in the fourth, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead.

...continued

swipe to next page