Pete Alonso homers and newcomer Paul Blackburn strikes out 6 for Mets in 5-1 victory over Angels

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Pete Alonso homered for the third time in five games and Paul Blackburn allowed only one run in his Mets debut as New York beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-1 on Friday night.

Brandon Nimmo went 3 for 5 as everyone in the Mets' lineup had at least one hit. New York has won three of four.

Blackburn (5-2), acquired by the Mets from Oakland on Monday, defeated the Angels for the second time in eight days. The right-hander went six innings and allowed one run on six hits and struck out six.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was pleased with Blackburn's outing, especially with the way he was able to mix all his pitches.

“Honestly, I came in today, saw him and told him to be himself and I would talk to him after the game,” Mendoza said.

Blackburn reported to the Mets on Thursday, but didn't begin to meet most of his new teammates until before Friday's game.

Blackburn said the pregame meeting and working with catcher with Francisco Alvarez went better than expected.

“The preparation on his end, constant communication between innings was fun to watch. For the first time out, couldn't have gone better with us,” Blackburn said. "It's been crazy but I'm here to do the job. ... We got the win, that’s all I’m here for really. That’s all I care about”

Nolan Schanuel had two hits and extended his hitting streak to seven games for the Angels, who have dropped six of eight during their homestand. Jo Adell had an RBI single in the second.

“I think we took him for granted," Angels manager Ron Washington said about facing Blackburn. “Tried to do too much with him and took too many big swings instead of trying to keep the line moving. When you have a young offense, that’s what happens.”

With one out in the third inning and Nimmo on first base, Alonso drove a first-pitch cutter from Tyler Anderson (8-10) into the left field stands to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. Alonso is tied for fifth in the National League with 23 homers.

“I felt pretty good at the dish for a long time now. I’m just happy that the balls and line drives are starting to carry over the fence," Alonso said.

Anderson gave up three runs on eight hits in five innings.

The Mets opened the scoring in the second, when Francisco Alvarez's base hit to left-center drove in Jose Iglesias, who led off the inning with a double.

The Angels evened it in the home half when three straight batters reached base. Adell lined a ball that went off Mets third baseman Mark Vientos and into left field as Mickey Moniak scored from second base.

The Mets added a pair in the sixth. J.D. Martinez had an RBI base hit and Francisco Lindor scored when Angels shortstop Zach Neto mishandled Vientos' grounder for an error.

WEB GEM

Angels second baseman Luis Guillorme made a diving catch in shallow right field to rob Francisco Alvarez in the fifth inning. Guillorme ran 94 feet to make the play, according to MLB Statcast. Ironically, Guillmore was drafted in the 10th round by the Mets in 2013.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Mets: OF Starling Marte (right knee bone bruise) did some running in the outfield. He will head to the team's spring training complex in Florida on Monday to continue his rehab.

Angels: 3B Luis Rengifo came out after four innings due to irritation to his right wrist. It is the same wrist that caused him to miss 15 games in July.

UP NEXT

Mets LHP David Peterson (5-1, 3.52 ERA) looks to bounce back after suffering his first loss of the season last Sunday at Atlanta. Angels RHP José Soriano (6-7, 3.69 ERA) went 2-2 in five starts during July.

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New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, center, celebrates with third baseman Mark Vientos, left, and second baseman Jose Iglesias, right, after the final out of the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, left, celebrates with third baseman Mark Vientos, after the final out of the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

New York Mets' Harrison Bader celebrates after scoring off a single hit by J.D Martinez during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Los Angeles Angels second baseman Luis Guillorme catches a popout from New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Los Angeles Angels second baseman Luis Guillorme catches a popout from New York Mets' Francisco Alvarez during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout sits in the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso, right, celebrates his two-run home run with Brandon Nimmo, who also scored, during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, left, picks off Los Angeles Angels' Jo Adell who was trying to steal second base during the second inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso, right, celebrates his two-run home run with Brandon Nimmo, who also scored, during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

New York Mets starting pitcher Paul Blackburn throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

New York Mets' Pete Alonso tosses his bat after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

NEW YORK (AP) — Francisco Lindor's walk-off sacrifice fly capped a late comeback that was keyed by Jesse Winker's two-run triple in the eighth inning, leading the New York Mets to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night.

Jose Siri drew a one-out walk in the ninth against Nick Sandlin (0-1), went to second base on a wild pitch and was held at third on Luis Torrens’ single. Lindor greeted closer Jeff Hoffman with a lineout to right-center and Siri scored easily as second baseman Andres Giménez cut off the throw from Myles Straw.

It was the seventh career walk-off RBI for Lindor.

Edwin Diaz (1-0) struck out three in the ninth, including Giménez to strand a pair of runners.

Chris Bassitt tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings before the Mets tied it in the eighth against Brendon Little, who gave up Winker's two-run triple.

It was the second triple of the game for Winker, who entered with three in 760 regular-season big league contests and hadn't hit one in a regular-season game since 2021 with Cincinnati. He hit two during the playoffs — one against Milwaukee in the wild-card round and another against Los Angeles in the NLCS — last year with the Mets.

Blue Jays right fielder George Springer was injured crashing into the wall in pursuit of the hit and left the game accompanied by manager John Schneider and a trainer. Schneider said after the game Springer was dealing with lower back spasms and no MRI was needed.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette each had an RBI for the Blue Jays. Bassitt allowed four hits, walked none and struck out nine.

Mets starter Griffin Canning gave up one run in four-plus innings.

Winker’s game-tying triple was just the Mets’ third hit in 13 at-bats with a runner on base Saturday.

Bassitt, who threw his assortment of pitches between 69 and 93 mph, has tossed 14 1/3 scoreless innings in two starts at Citi Field since leaving the Mets following the 2022 season.

The three-game series concludes Sunday, when Mets left-hander David Peterson (1-0, 3.00 ERA) opposes Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis (1-0, 3.00).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Mets' Juan Soto, right, scores off a triple by teammate Jesse Winker in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

CORRECTS TEAM - New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (22) tosses his caught ball to a fan during the second inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Mets hug Francisco Lindor, second from right, after his winning sacrifice fly against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth inning, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Toronto Blue Jays' Myles Straw runs after hitting a single during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Toronto Blue Jays' Andrés Giménez, center, celebrates after his single during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

CORRECTS TO GRIFFIN CANNING NOT BRETT BATY - New York Mets' Griffin Canning pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Mets' Jesse Winker, right, hits a triple during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Mets' Jesse Winker, right, celebrates on third base after hitting a triple during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Mets' Francisco Lindor, center, celebrates after his double during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Mets players celebrate with Francisco Lindor, second from right, after his winning sacrifice fly against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth inning, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)