The game was tied through four innings, and then the fifth happened. The New York Mets sent seven batters across the plate in a five-run fifth inning Thursday at Citi Field, pulling away from the Kansas City Royals for a 7-3 victory before 33,868 fans.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| NYM | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 7 | 10 | 1 |
Sean Manaea was the steadying force throughout. The left-hander worked seven innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits with 6 strikeouts and 1 walk on 97 pitches. He picked up his second win of the season against four losses, carrying a 4.56 ERA. The Mets' bullpen covered the final two innings without allowing a run.
The Fifth Inning
Kansas City's Michael Wacha had matched New York pitch for pitch through much of the early going, but the fifth inning unraveled his afternoon. Tyrone Taylor led it off with a home run to left center, tying the game at 2-2. Bo Bichette then brought Baty home on a sacrifice fly to give the Mets the lead for good. Carson Benge followed with a single to center, scoring Ewing, and Soto scored on a throwing error by center fielder Thomas, with Benge advancing to third. Francisco Alvarez then singled to left, scoring Benge. Five runs, one lead that never changed hands. Wacha was charged with 6 runs on 6 hits over 4.2 innings, falling to 5-7 with a 3.77 ERA.
The Royals had drawn first blood on Lane Thomas's first-inning home run to left, a 406-foot shot that gave Kansas City an early advantage. Bobby Witt added a solo homer to left in the fourth to put the Royals back ahead at 2-1 after Jared Young's RBI double had tied it in the second. Jac Caglianone doubled in the seventh to bring Nick Loftin home, but by then the margin was too wide. Juan Soto answered immediately with a home run to right center — 435 feet — to push the final to 7-3.
Bichette, who drove in the go-ahead run with his sacrifice fly, is 12 RBI shy of 500 for his career. The Mets extended their winning streak to two games and improved to 40-54. Kansas City dropped to 38-56, losing for the second straight day.