McCann homers, drives in 4 as Mets beat Diamondbacks

PHOENIX— Pete Alonso scored Francisco Lindor with a go-ahead single in the ninth inning, James McCann homered and drove in four, and the New York Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 Wednesday.

Lindor reached in the ninth on his third hit, advanced to second on an error by center fielder Ketel Marte and reached third on a passed ball. Alonso then ripped a single through the left side of the infield off Joakim Soria (0-1) for a one-run lead.

Miguel Castro (2-1) got the win with two scoreless innings, and Edwin Díaz recorded his 10th save after blowing his first opportunity of the season Tuesday.

The Mets had 16 hits, one short of tying a season high. New York’s second through fifth hitters — Lindor, McCann, Alonso, Kevin Pillar and Dominic Smith — were a combined 13 of 24 with six RBIs.

Lindor had just his second three-hit game of the season. He lifted his batting average to .209, his highest mark since April 27.

Arizona starter Madison Bumgarner lasted just two innings, his shortest outing since Aug. 9, 2020. He allowed five earned runs on eight hits and his ERA climbed to 5.73.

The Mets had six consecutive hits off Bumgarner in the first inning. Jonathan Villar and Lindor led off the game with back-toback singles and McCann followed with a threerun homer to left field. A double-play groundout by Brandon Drury gave New York a 4-0 lead.

The Diamondbacks responded by batting around and scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning off Mets starter David Peterson. Marte hit a two-run homer to left field, infielder Ildemaro Vargas — acquired earlier in the day from Pittsburgh for cash — had a two-run single to right and Bumgarner drove in a run with a single.

Peterson lasted just ⅓ of an inning, giving up three hits and five earned runs. He walked three batters.

Seth Lugo made his season debut for the Mets and allowed a run over two innings. The right-handed reliever had elbow surgery in February.

Castro tied up Marte so badly with a first-pitch breaking ball in the seventh inning that Marte swung, missed and ended up belly down in the dirt. The righthanded pitcher ran snapped the pitch toward the lefthanded Marte’s back foot, prompting Marte to swing and jump all in one motion — a move that ended with Marte crashing face-first to the ground.

Apology from Brenly: Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster Bob Brenly issued an apology for a comment about New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman’s head covering that the right-hander said had racist undertones.

“During last night’s game, I made a poor attempt at humor that was insensitive and wrong,” Brenly, a former Diamondbacks manager, said in a statement Wednesday.

“I apologize to Marcus Stroman and have reached out directly to share those thoughts. I have had several conversations with the D-backs and we agree that seeking sensitivity training is an important step so that I can continue to learn from my mistakes in order to be better in the future.”