The Mets (56-50) and Twins (58-47) began a series on Monday, the Twins’ first trip to Citi Field since 2019. Jose Quintana (6-6, 3.89 ERA) matched up against former Mets prospect Simeon Woods Richardson (3-2, 3.74 ERA), and it turned out to be a lopsided Mets victory by a score of 15-2.
The Mets rode big fourth and sixth innings to victory. They were silenced over the first three innings, but the team scored four runs in the fourth before Woods Richardson even recorded his first out. Pete Alonso started the inning with a home run, his 22nd of the year, before a slew of walks and hits put three more runs on the board.
It wasn’t until Woods Richardson’s 36th pitch of the inning, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Brandon Nimmo, that he recorded his first out, but he would be subsequently pulled from the game for Cole Sands. J.D. Martinez added another sacrifice fly to make it a 6-1 game.
In the sixth, the Mets got their first three batters to reach, with Nimmo driving in the seventh run of the game with a single. The Mets would score four more runs in the inning on a fielder’s choice groundout, a walk, a sacrifice fly, and a hit-by-pitch. That gave the Mets a monstrous 11-1 lead.
The Mets’ scoring didn’t stop after their two big innings. They added two more in the seventh on RBI doubles from Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil before the Rays waved the white flag, sending outfielder Matt Wallner to the mound. Luis Torrens recorded his third hit and his second and third RBIs of the night with a double down the left field line, adding two more runs to put the Mets up 15-1.
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Jose Quintana was fabulous, outside of the game’s first few minutes. The Twins went up 1-0 within the first five pitches on a Manuel Margot leadoff double on the game’s first pitch and a Byron Buxton RBI single. The Twins would not score again off of Quintana, who exited the game after six innings. He allowed five hits, one walk, and struck out five. He once again lowered his ERA below 4.00 from 4.02 to 3.89.
José Buttó relieved Quintana in the seventh and kept the Twins off the board with the help of Tyrone Taylor, who robbed a would-be Ryan Jeffers home run. Buttó remained on in the eighth and ninth innings for the three-inning save, pitching a clean eighth before allowing a Jeffers home run in the ninth.
Buttó got through the rest of the inning unscathed, securing his second career save. That gave the Mets a 15-2 victory and put them back at six games over .500. In all, the Mets scored 15 runs on 17 hits with all 11 Mets to make a plate appearance recording at least one hit.
The Mets sent 10-plus batters to the plate in both the fourth and sixth innings. Per Sarah Langs of MLB, the last time the Mets batted around twice in an inning was last year in Oakland. However, the last time they did it at home was in 1976, 48 years ago.
Pete Alonso had himself a game, going 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. He also scored two runs and drove in two more. Alonso has eight extra-base hits in 40 at-bats since the All-Star break, as he has finally gotten hot at the plate.
The Mets’ series with the Twins continues Tuesday evening with Sean Manaea (6-4, 3.74 ERA) on the mound against David Festa (1-1, 8.16 ERA), a New Jersey native. Manaea has succeeded in his career against the Twins, owning a 5-1 record with a 2.48 ERA in six games. Festa is a 24-year-old rookie who has made just three major league appearances.
First pitch will take place at 7:10 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on SNY.
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