MLB results: Mets 6, Blue Jays 2 – A possible no-hitter turns into a comeback win

The Mets offense picked a pretty bad time to go ice cold. After struggling to score over the last week or so, the bats were dead quiet in tonight's series finale against the Blue Jays against Bowden Francis – to the point where they went into the ninth inning without a single hit. It really looked like they were on the verge of a loss to the Blue Jays and an embarrassing showing for a team that needs to do everything it can to stay in the wild card race.

But the 2024 Mets have consistently defied the odds, and today was no exception. What easily could have been a heartbreaking, no-hit loss instead became a come-from-behind victory, thanks to an offensive explosion in the ninth inning that allowed the Mets to leave Toronto with another series win.

Francis came into today's game having pitched exceptionally well of late (in fact, he held a no-hit effort until the ninth inning just a few weeks ago), and he continued his success for most of the game today. To be fair, the Mets did hit him regularly (he only struck out one batter) and hit some balls hard, but the balls continued to land in the gloves for most of the afternoon. Thankfully, the Amazins also fielded their best starting pitcher, as Sean Manaea took the mound for the Mets and took on the unenviable task of keeping them in the game in a game where they failed to get a single hit.

The Blue Jays drew first blood in the bottom half of the fourth inning when Manaea loaded the bases with two hits and a walk before getting a single out. Davis Schneider then hit a ground ball that forced him out at third base and brought home the game's first run. While Manaea did a good job of limiting the damage to just that one run, the Blue Jays still had the lead while the Mets had yet to put a runner on base. They finally did that in the bottom half of the inning when a hit-by-pitch by Pete Alonso ended the perfect game threat. Starling Marte later got a walk to put runners on first and second base with two outs, but Francisco Alvarez flew out to right field to end the threat and the Mets still remained hitless.

Manaea's day ended after he put two runners on base in the seventh inning. His final record – 6.2 innings, 3 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts, 1 run – was certainly strong, but he still left the game on the losing end. Reed Garrett and Danny Young combined to get through the next 1.2 innings and hold the Blue Jays to just one run, leading to a ninth inning in which Francis stepped onto the mound to complete the no-hit attempt.

But Francisco Lindor opened the inning and quickly ended his quest for history, hitting an 0-2 pitch into the right field seats to tie the game and end the no-hitter. Francis was then subbed out in favor of Chad Green to try to keep the game tied until the end of the inning, but he failed to do so, quickly loading the bases thanks to an infield hit and two walks. Pete Alonso then hit a sacrifice fly into right field to give the Mets their first lead of the day. Another walk then led to another sacrifice fly – this time courtesy of Starling Marte – to make it 3-1.

It easily could have been, but Francisco Alvarez instead attacked new pitcher Génesis Cabrera after he came on for the struggling Green, hitting his first pitch to deep center field, which led to a three-run home run and put the game at 6-1. The next two batters also came in (with a double and a single) and almost scored more runs when José Iglesias hit a deep fly ball to center field. Unfortunately, it was caught and the inning was over.

The Mets had enough points to convince Carlos Mendoza to bring in Ryne Stanek instead of Edwin Díaz to end the game. Stanek almost made it, but a walk led to the runner advancing to third base with two outs, and Addison Barger then hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 6-2. Another single convinced Mendoza to bring in Díaz after all to end the game without drama – and luckily the Mets' closer managed to do so, needing just one pitch to get a game-ending fly ball out.

The Mets leave Toronto with two wins in three games and will either stay tied in the wild-card race or get one win ahead of the Braves depending on how their game against the Nationals turns out tonight. After a day off tomorrow, the Amazins begin a key three-game series against the first-place Phillies in Philadelphia.

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What is WPA?

Big Mets winner: Francisco Lindor, +26.5% WPA
Big Mets loser: JD Martinez, -6.0% WPA
Mets pitcher: +24.3% WPA
Mets bats: +25.7% WPA
This is the best game: Francisco Lindor solo home run in the ninth, +34.0% WPA
The sux0rest game: Will Wagner fill all bases in the fourth inning, -8.2% WPA