NEW YORK — Pinch-hitter Jesse Winker led off the ninth inning with his first home run for the New York Mets, giving them another rousing 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.
Mets starter Sean Manaea retired his first 17 batters and Mark Vientos put New York ahead 3-2 with a solo homer in the seventh.
Francisco Lindor also went deep and J.D. Martinez drove in a run with a grounder to help the Mets take two of three in the series. New York began the day 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the final National League playoff berth, with the Braves scheduled to host Philadelphia later.
Following a 5-4 homestand, the Mets begin a pivotal 10-game trip Thursday night with the first of four at San Diego.
Edwin Díaz (5-1) struck out two in a perfect inning for his second win of the series. The first came Monday night, when Francisco Alvarez’s solo homer in the ninth gave the Mets a 4-3 victory.
Seranthony Domínguez (3-4) gave up both game-ending longballs.
Acquired from Washington in a July 28 trade, Winker fought back from 0-2 and drove a 98 mph full-count fastball the other way to left-center for his second walk-off homer in the majors.
His 12th home run of the season was his second as a pinch hitter and the sixth of his career.
A pumped-up Winker fired his helmet to the ground and stopped to flex in the direction of the New York dugout before beginning his trot around the bases.
He paused again between third base and home plate, then finally joined his teammates who were waiting to celebrate.
Adley Rutschman’s sacrifice fly tied it for the Orioles in the eighth, moments after pinch-hitter Ryan O’Hearn got ejected by plate umpire Marvin Hudson following a swinging strikeout with the bases loaded and nobody out.
Baltimore began the day with a half-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees, who were set to host Cleveland across town Wednesday night.
Manaea was one strike from finishing six perfect innings when he drilled Jackson Holliday behind the shoulder with a 2-2 fastball. Austin Slater drove the next pitch the other way to right field for a two-run homer that tied it 2-all.
After giving up an infield single to start the eighth, Manaea was pulled. He permitted only three hits in his latest terrific performance, striking out nine and walking none during an efficient 90-pitch outing.
The left-hander has lasted seven innings in four of his past five starts, though this was the first time all season he worked into the eighth. He received a standing ovation from the crowd of 32,871 on a beautiful afternoon in Queens and blew a kiss as he approached the dugout.
Jose Buttó walked his first two batters in relief of Manaea, loading the bases with none out, but limited the damage to Rutschman’s sacrifice fly.
Lindor launched his 25th homer leading off the third against Baltimore starter Cole Irvin, brought back up from Triple-A Norfolk to start in place of injured Zach Eflin.
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