NEW YORK — Jared Young was plunked with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, sparking a two-out, five-run rally that lifted the New York Mets to a 6-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
With the game tied late, Young took a 90 mph slider off his right elbow from Royals reliever Alex Lange (0-4). The hit-by-pitch broke the deadlock and opened the floodgates for Lange, who allowed five straight baserunners with two outs in the frame.
Brett Baty followed by chasing Lange from the game with a sharp two-run single. Young then crossed the plate on a wild pitch by reliever Jose Cuas, who subsequently surrendered an RBI single to Francisco Alvarez to cap the five-run explosion.
Mets reliever Brooks Raley (3-3) earned the win after navigating around a double by Lane Thomas in the top of the eighth.
Early Power and Strong Pitching
The Mets got on the board early thanks to rookie A.J. Ewing. Ewing launched his first career leadoff home run—a 420-foot blast—off Kansas City opener Steven Cruz. With the hit, Ewing became the fifth different Mets player to hit a leadoff home run this season.
Mets starter Christian Scott turned in a stellar performance, scattering three hits and striking out five over five scoreless innings.
On the other side, Cruz struck out two in his lone inning of work before handing the ball to Randy Dobnak. Dobnak quieted the Mets’ bats by tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. It marked the longest scoreless outing by a Kansas City reliever since Mike Mayers threw six scoreless frames against St. Louis on May 29, 2023.
Royals Flash Leather, But Offense Stalls
The Royals found run support from veteran Salvador Perez, who drove in a run with an RBI single, and Carter Jensen, who added a run-scoring double.
One night after going 5 for 6 and tying a Major League record with hits in 12 consecutive plate appearances, Royals right fielder Tyler Tolbert went 0 for 3. However, the 28-year-old made his presence felt on defense, robbing Francisco Lindor of an RBI extra-base hit with a spectacular crashing catch into the outfield wall to end the third inning.
The defensive battle stood in stark contrast to Tuesday’s slugfest. The two teams combined for 17 hits on Wednesday, just a night after exploding for 32 hits in a wild 16-12 Royals comeback victory.
Up Next
The teams will wrap up their series on Thursday. The Royals will send right-hander Michael Wacha (5-6, 3.45 ERA) to the mound, while the Mets counter with left-handers Sean Manaea (1-4, 5.16 ERA).
