TORONTO (AP) ā Francisco Lindor broke up Bowden Francisā no-hit bid with a tying homer leading off the ninth inning, Francisco Alvarez added a three-run shot and the New York Mets scored six times in their last at-bat to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Wednesday.
āIt felt really good,ā Lindor said of his pivotal home run. āIt was one of those hits that I could tell the vibes in the dugout were lifted.ā
New York moved a game ahead of rival Atlanta for the final National League wild card when the Braves lost 5-1 at Washington.
With the crowd of 29,399 on their feet to start the ninth, Francis got ahead of Lindor 0-2 before the four-time All-Star drilled a 92 mph fastball 398 feet to right field for his 31st home run.
āEverything was going his way until the last pitch he threw,ā Lindor said.
The homer came on Francisā 111th pitch, only the second time heās thrown more than 100.
āWith that many pitches, I felt like I had to empty the tank with heaters and let him put the ball in play,ā Francis said.
It was the second time in four starts Francis lost a no-hitter on a leadoff homer in the ninth ā Taylor Ward connected off the right-hander for the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 24.
That made Francis the first pitcher to lose two no-hit bids in the ninth inning during one season since Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan with Texas in 1989.
āIt sucks for him that itās happened twice in the same fashion,ā Toronto manager John Schneider said.
Dave Stieb threw the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history at Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1990. Two years earlier, Stieb lost two no-hitters in the ninth.
Francisā two recent close calls are the longest no-hit bids by a Blue Jays pitcher since Brandon Morrow tossed 8 2/3 hitless innings against Tampa Bay in August 2010.
Francis was selected AL pitcher of the month for August, when he went 4-1 with a 1.05 ERA. He struck out 39 and walked four in six appearances, five starts.
āI just canāt speak enough to how heās evolved and how much he has taken from this opportunity,ā Schneider said.
Francis walked one, struck out one and twice hit a batter with a pitch.
āWe couldnāt put much together,ā Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. āHe was on today. Heās been doing that the past few outings. Nothing overpowering, but just enough to miss barrels.ā
Lindorās drive was New Yorkās first home run in the last four games, and the first by either team in the series.
āHe just got us going,ā Mendoza said. āSpecial player, special person.ā
Sean Manaea struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits. Danny Young (4-0) got one out in relief to help the Mets win for the 11th time in 13 games.
Pinch-hitter Addison Barger had an RBI single off Ryne Stanek with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. George Springer followed with an infield single, but Edwin DĆaz needed only one pitch to earn his 18th save in 24 chances.
Chad Green (4-6) replaced Francis and gave up an infield single to Jose Iglesias, who advanced to second on a throwing error. Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo walked to load the bases before Pete Alonso hit a sacrifice fly.
J.D. Martinez walked to load the bases a second time, and Starling Marte chased Green with a sacrifice fly.
GĆ©nesis Cabrera came on and gave up a first-pitch homer to Alvarez, the seventh of the season for the Mets catcher and first since Aug. 19.
The Mets have been no-hit eight times. Max Scherzer was the last pitcher to do it, with Washington on Oct. 3, 2015.
New Yorkās Harrison Bader opened the sixth with a drive to deep left field but Torontoās Davis Schneider .
The Mets and Lindor on the anniversary of 9/11.
Lindor needed time when a wasp landed on his glove at shortstop in the bottom of the sixth. Second base umpire Stu Scheurwater helped out by whacking the wasp with his cap.
āThey were still out there,ā Lindor said. āIt was one of those where we were saying, āHopefully, it didnāt die.ā We didnāt want any more bugs to come around.ā
Davis Schneider drove in Torontoās first run on a fielderās choice in the fourth.
TRAINERāS ROOM
Mets RHP Paul Blackburn returned to New York to get imaging on his sore lower back, Mendoza said.
UP NEXT
Mets: LHP Jose Quintana (8-9, 4.09 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday as New York visits Philadelphia for the opener of a three-game series.
Blue Jays: Toronto hosts St. Louis in a three-game series beginning Friday.
___
AP MLB:
Ian Harrison, The Associated Press
