NEW YORK (AP) — One day after arriving, Patrick Mazeika has already given the New York Mets an unexpected boost.
The light-hitting catcher launched a tiebreaking homer leading off the seventh inning in his first major league game this season, and the Mets beat the sloppy Seattle Mariners 5-4 on Saturday night.
“Felt great. Anytime you can contribute to a win, that’s all I’m trying to do,” Mazeika said. “This one’s pretty special right now.”
Starling Marte tripled, doubled, singled and scored three times for the Mets, who squandered a 4-0 lead when Jesse Winker tied it with a three-run homer off Chasen Shreve in the top of the seventh.
Mazeika, batting ninth, laced the first pitch from reliever Andrés Muñoz (1-1) inside the right-field foul pole for his second career home run. New York’s third-string catcher was called up from the minors Friday when top backstop James McCann went on the injured list with a broken bone in his left wrist.
“That’s why you get up in the morning, why you never know what the game’s got in store for you,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “That was a great moment for him, let alone the team. He ambushed a guy throwing 100 mph. We needed it.”
Adam Ottavino (2-1) pitched a scoreless eighth, retiring Ty France with a runner on third to end the inning.
Edwin Díaz struck out the 3-4-5 batters in the ninth against his former team for his eighth save in nine chances. He fanned Winker with a 100 mph fastball for the final out to the delight of 37,148 fans who waited out a rain delay at the start on a misty night.
“I was making sure my pitches were nasty to him,” Díaz said.
Winker was booed throughout and waved to the crowd after rounding the bases on his home run — part of a back-and-forth with Citi…
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