Francisco Alvarez laced a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth, then scored an insurance run on an unusual sacrifice fly Tuesday night for the visiting New York Mets, who damaged the Texas Rangers’ playoff hopes with a 6-3 win in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
Juan Soto had an RBI single in the third, and Carson Benge capped the scoring with a run-scoring double in the seventh for the Mets (72-85). The club won hours after removing the interim tag from manager Andy Green and signing him to a three-year extension. Green is 38-38 since taking over for Carlos Mendoza on June 26.
Benge also scored in the fourth when ex-Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo misplayed Alvarez’s fly ball to right.
Josh Jung had an RBI double in the third, and Elias Diaz and Wyatt Langford lofted sacrifice flies in the fourth for the Rangers (78-79), who entered Tuesday with a one-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West.
The Astros won the season series between the teams 9-4, which means the Rangers must win the AL West outright to earn the division crown.
The sacrifice flies by Diaz and Langford gave the Rangers their lone lead against Sean Manaea before the Mets rallied against Nathan Eovaldi (11-10).
Brett Baty led off with a double and Benge walked before Baty was forced at third on Marcus Semien’s grounder. Alvarez followed with his two-run double and advanced to third on A.J. Ewing’s single.
Luis Torrens followed with a foul out to first baseman Jake Burger in shallow right field. But Burger made the catch with his back to the plate and double-clutched as Alvarez tagged up, raced home and slid in ahead of the tag by Diaz.
Alvarez, Soto and Benge each had two hits, while Ewing collected his 25th stolen base of the season, breaking Mookie Wilson’s record for stolen bases by a Mets rookie.
Manaea (6-7) allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks, striking out nine over six innings. Nate Lavender and Dedniel Nunez each threw a perfect inning, and Kodai Senga notched his eighth save with a hitless ninth.
Nimmo, playing against the Mets for the first time since he was traded for Semien last November, recorded two hits.
Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk while striking out two over five innings.
