ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Brandon Nimmo loves the way the New York Mets are playing right now as they just keep winning games.
Pete Alonso hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and the Mets, a night after their 22-hit outburst in a lopsided victory, extended their winning streak to a season-best seven games with a late rally to beat the slumping Texas Rangers 7-6 on Tuesday.
“Every bit of us could have just rolled over and been like, oh, we’re playing good baseball right now,” said Nimmo, who homered and later scored the deciding run on Alonso’s hit. “It’s a really special place we’re in right now. Everybody’s pulling for each other and we’re trying to be there for each other. … Just be relentless and never give up.”
Texas had a 6-2 lead after a five-run fifth, its highest-scoring inning in six weeks, but the Mets scored in each of the last five innings.
Mark Vientos also homered for New York (35-37), which has won 11 of 13 overall. Francisco Alvarez tied it at 6 on a two-run double with two outs in the eighth.
Rangers closer Kirby Yates (3-1) walked Nimmo with one out in the ninth. J.D. Martinez reached on a catcher’s interference call and Alonso doubled into the left-field corner to give the Mets a 7-6 lead.
“Regardless of the deficit, we’re just looking to put together quality at-bats and progressively chip away,” Alonso said.
Josh Smith and rookie Wyatt Langford went deep for the reigning World Series champion Rangers, who have lost five in a row and 23 of 34 overall to fall 10 games behind AL West-leading Seattle.
“Tough one. No getting around it, we let that one get away,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We had our guys set up. … These are games that I like my chances. It just got away.”
Nimmo led off the sixth with his ninth homer, and the Mets had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh when David Robertson’s first pitch was hit for a potential inning-ending double play. Corey Seager fielded Francisco Lindor’s grounder right at second base for an out, but the shortstop’s wide throw to first allowed a run to score.
Robertson came back out for the eighth, when he gave up back-to-back singles to Alonso and Starling Marte. Alvarez tied it with his third hit of the night.
“We’re not giving any easy outs away, and I think we’re doing a great job of staying disciplined,” Alonso said.
Reed Garrett (7-2), the third Mets pitcher, retired all three batters he faced in the eighth. Edwin Díaz worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his seventh save this season and second straight without a hiccup since coming off the injured list.
New York has its longest winning streak since a seven-game run from July 24 to Aug. 1, 2022.
Until their five-run fifth, the Rangers had been held to fewer than five runs in 27 of 35 games since scoring 10 in the second inning of a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.
Ezequiel Duran and Leody Taveras, the No. 9 batter who had been 2 for 46 in June, had back-to-back singles before Seager snapped a 1-for-16 skid by grounding an RBI single through the left side of the infield. Smith hit a tiebreaking three-run homer on the next pitch, and Langford added his first career homer over the fence — he had an inside-the-park dash on April 28.
Texas starter Michael Lorenzen allowed three runs and four hits over six innings. Luis Severino gave up six runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings for the Mets.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: RHP Kodai Senga (right shoulder capsule strain) is scheduled to throw a bullpen Wednesday. New York manager Carlos Mendoza said Senga could be facing hitters by the weekend.
Rangers: Switch-hitting C Jonah Heim was activated from the paternity list after missing three games, and RHP Yerry Rodriguez was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock. RHP Cole Winn and C Sam Huff were optioned to Round Rock.
UP NEXT
A matchup of left-handers in the series finale, with Sean Manaea (4-3, 4.11 ERA) pitching for the Mets and Andrew Heaney (2-8, 4.19) starting for Texas.
