Mets rally against Tigers for first win of the season, avoid doubleheader sweep

For 19 innings on Thursday, nothing had gone the New York Mets' way.

They had lost the first game of a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers, 6-3, in 11 innings and trailed the nightcap, 1-0, going into the bottom of the ninth at Citi Field. Not only had the Mets been shut out, but they had gone a club-record 13 innings without a hit from the sixth inning of the opening game until the eighth inning of the second game.

But Pete Alonso led off the ninth with a home run off Detroit reliever Alex Faedo to tie the game at 1-all. And after Brett Baty walked and was sacrificed to second, Tyrone Taylor lined a single down the left-field line to score Baty with the winning run and give New York its first win of the season after five consecutive losses to start the 2024 campaign.

The win also salvaged both a split of the doubleheader and the final contest of a three-game series.

Alonso's home run, his second of the season, was impressive. He didn't even make a full follow through after reaching out to hook Faedo's 1-0 pitch that was on the outside corner. But Alonso was still strong enough to drive it just over the left-center fence. 

It was the first run that Tigers relievers had given up in 25 2/3 innings. It was Detroit's first loss of the season after winning its first five.

It looked like win number six until the bottom of the ninth.

Tigers starter Matt Manning, who had only been called up from Triple-A Toledo to make the start due to Detroit and Toledo rainouts, and Tyler Holton combined to no-hit the Mets through seven. But Harrison Bader led off the eighth with a looping single to left off Holton to spoil the no-hit attempt. 

Bader was then sacrificed to second by former Tiger Zach Short, but Holton got Brandon Nimmo on a fly out. Faedo then came in to fan Francisco Lindor swinging to end the inning.

Detroit only had five hits in the nightcap. Its only run came on Javier Baez's one-out RBI single in the second.

Reed Garrett (1-0), who pitched a scoreless three innings with four strikeouts, got the win, and Faedo (0-1) was the loser.