CLEVELAND: The team that had shown the least amount of muscle in baseball flexed plenty of it Friday night.
The Mets entered Friday night with two home runs as a team, the lowest mark in baseball. That was before they suddenly discovered their power and launched four home runs, three in the fifth inning alone to break open a deadlocked game, end Indians starting pitcher Cody Anderson’s night and hand the Indians a 6-5 loss.
The Indians waited as long as they possibly could to respond, but back they came.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Mets comfortably leading 6-2, Carlos Santana got a bit of revenge for a just-missed home run earlier in the game when he hammered a two-run home run to right-center to make it 6-4. Yan Gomes then singled up the middle to bring Marlon Byrd to the plate representing the tying run. Byrd followed with a bloop single against Mets closer Jeurys Familia to score Gomes, making it 6-5. Juan Uribe, who ended an 0-for-18 skid Friday night, then walked to put the tying run in scoring position.
Familia, though, ended the Indians’ rally by getting Jose Ramirez to fly out to left field to end the game. It was a loud ending to a game that was quiet with the exception of the top of the fifth inning.
The Indians (4-4) and Mets (4-5) both brought home a run in the first inning and then sailed to the fifth. Mets outfielder Alejandro De Aza opened that inning with a solo home run, making it 2-1. After Anderson recorded two outs and nearly escaped with minimal damage, things spiraled. Outfielder Michael Conforto, who homered in the first inning, singled and was followed by designated hitter Yoenis Cespedes’ two-run home run to center field to push the Mets’ lead to 4-1.
First baseman Lucas Duda then slapped a single to left field, prompting Indians manager Terry Francona out of the dugout, Anderson to the showers and relief pitcher Ross Detwiler to the mound. Detwiler’s first pitch to second baseman Neil Walker was deposited into the seats in left field, capping the Mets’ fifth-inning power surge and making it 6-1.
The Indians got a run back in the bottom of the fifth but couldn’t keep the line moving. Outfielder Rajai Davis opened with a single up the middle and second baseman Jason Kipnis followed with a double over De Aza’s head in center field to score him. But from there, Mets starting pitcher and former Indian Bartolo Colon settled down to end the threat.
Anderson (0-1) finished the night allowing five earned runs on nine hits and one walk and striking out five in 4⅔ innings pitched. Colon (1-1) gave up eight hits and walked one in 5⅓ innings but allowed just the two runs to go with five strikeouts.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ