If hitting is contagious, the rest of the Mets lineup has caught whatever their DH has been spreading.
J.D. Martinez’s bat remains sizzling, but he was merely one contributor in an 11-6 drubbing of the Padres to finish off a sweep at Citi Field in front of 31,054 on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
The Mets (33-37) have won five straight, nine of their past 11 and just took three in a row against another NL wild-card contender.
Carlos Mendoza’s group knocked out 14 hits total — every member of the starting lineup reached base — and scored seven times in the first four innings, building a sizable lead that they would need because of a shaky relief corps.
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The Mets could withstand a bullpen implosion in the top of the eighth because the offense exploded three times, lastly in the bottom of the eighth.
A key Drew Smith strikeout in the top of the eighth allowed them to take a breath, and the Mets ran away for a second time with an eight-batter, four-run bottom of the inning.
“I thought that [eighth inning] was a huge statement,” said Pete Alonso, who launched a three-run homer in the first and a two-run single in the eighth. “Us as an offense collectively staying locked in. I thought we did a great job all nine innings putting together great at-bats.
“That’s a huge team win.”
The same club that was 11 games under .500 just two weeks ago and that has tried to fend off looking ahead toward the trade deadline is just 1 ¹/₂ games out of a wild-card spot.
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“I’m not looking at the standings,” Mendoza said before the ironic Father’s Day smacking of the dads from San Diego (37-38). “Obviously, I know we got to continue to play better. … We’re going to be right there until the end.
“There’s a good feeling right now in that clubhouse.”
There isn’t a batter who feels better than Martinez, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and extended his on-base streak to 10 straight plate appearances before striking out in the eighth. But the good feeling has grown infectious.
No. 1 hitter Francisco Lindor slammed his first leadoff home run of the season. No. 2 hitter Brandon Nimmo finished with three hits. Martinez, at No. 3, was on base four times, and cleanup hitter Alonso drove in five.
Facing Padres ace Dylan Cease, the Mets built a 4-0 lead after four hitters and did not have a batter retired until Cease’s 28th pitch.
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Three innings later, it was the bottom of the order jump-starting the party. No. 7 hitter Luis Torrens singled before No. 9 hitter Harrison Bader smacked an RBI double. The big bats responded with a sac fly (from Lindor), single (from Nimmo) and RBI double (from Martinez).
“When everyone’s hitting on all cylinders like today, it’s really fun as an offense,” said Alonso, who now has nine career games with five or more RBIs, a franchise mark that only trails David Wright’s 10.
In the 15 games since the Mets hit rock bottom — Jorge Lopez tossing his glove into the stands before a team meeting was called — the offense has averaged 5.73 runs per contest.
Sunday’s outburst became necessary when the bullpen began melting down.
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After solid efforts from Tylor Megill (five innings, two runs) and Adrian Houser (two innings, one unearned run), Jake Diekman couldn’t throw a strike — to the plate or to second base — in the eighth.
A poor play on a comebacker, which might have been a double play but ended up in center field, plus a pair of walks enabled one Padres run to score. A fielder’s choice brought in another and brought in Smith.
Smith’s first two batters: RBI double, sacrifice fly. With the tying run on second, Luis Arraez singled into right, but Starling Marte’s strong throw held Ha-Seong Kim at third.
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“He can shut down a running game,” Mendoza said of Marte, who was the lone member of the starting lineup without a hit. “He can help you win games in a lot of different ways.”
With the tying run on third and go-ahead run at first, Smith threw a cutter by Fernando Tatis Jr. and roared coming off the mound.
The Mets responded by sending eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning, when runs were driven in by Torrens (on a homer), Nimmo (on a single) and Alonso (on a generously scored, two-run single).
“It’s a good wave that we’re riding right now,” Lindor said after a happy Father’s Day. “We just got to make sure we stay on it as long as we can.”
