After enduring a series of misfortunes throughout the season's first month, the Mets on Sunday finally played a game with their projected Opening Day lineup intact, and -- perhaps without coincidence -- they won. Carlos Beltran scored on an error in the ninth inning, snapping a tie and leading the Mets to a 5-2 victory over the Diamondbacks.
The win allowed them to skip town with a series win against the league's best team.
Stuck in a 2-2 tie at Chase Field, Beltran led off the ninth inning with a single, then moved to second base on Moises Alou's single. The next batter, Carlos Delgado, hit a potential double-play ball to the right side, but Diamondbacks first baseman Conor Jackson threw it into right field, well high and wide of the bag. Everyone, including Beltran, was safe, and the Mets then padded the lead with two more runs in the inning.
Johan Santana carried the Mets early, striking out eight Diamondbacks in his six innings. Yet he also walked four batters and allowed at least one baserunner in every inning, leaving after throwing 116 pitches -- but with a 2-1 lead intact.
Reliever Joe Smith entered the game one inning later, promptly allowing the tying run to score on a walk and two singles. Smith's blown save marked the second time in two games that Santana has left with a lead, only to see it disappear.
Ryan Church saved the game for the Mets in the eighth, when, after Chris Burke bunted in front of home plate and Pedro Feliciano threw the ball into right field, Church gunned down Burke as he attempted to make it all the way to third base. Instead of having a runner on third with no one out, the Diamondbacks instead had none on with one out.
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