NEW YORK (AP) — Taijuan Walker retired 18 in a row and pitched into the seventh inning, Francisco Lindor homered for the second straight game and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 Saturday.
The Mets have won three straight and five of six, earning their NL-best 44th victory and improving to a season-high 21 games over .500. It’s the fastest they have reached that mark since 1986, when the eventual World Series winners improved to 36-15.
Walker (5-2) pitched one-run ball and struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings in front of a large crowd on an unseasonably cool and breezy day. Jon Berti singled to lead off the game and stole a base in each of the next two at-bats, but the speedster was stranded as the right-hander fanned the side.
With napkins, hot dog wrappers and other garbage fluttering around the field, Walker blew the Marlins away with a dizzying mix of four-seamers, sinkers, sliders and a particularly tough splitter.
“He had everything at his disposal,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “Every pitch they had to honor.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked against Walker in the seventh, stole second and scored on Avisail Garcia’s double. Walker was charged with two hits and a walk.
“I was just trying to go out there and get strike one, and just get ahead in counts and try and put them away when I did get two strikes,” Walker said.
For the second consecutive game, Lindor homered with his mother and several other family members in attendance. With one out in the third, Lindor drove Braxton Garrett’s 2-2 fastball over the left-center field wall to score Starling Marte and give the Mets a 3-0 advantage. Lindor pointed toward his family as he crossed home plate, pumping his fist several times.
Lindor’s mother, Maria Serrano, visited Citi Field on Friday for the first time…
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