The Mets fell behind early but staged a late comeback and emerged with a 6-3 win over the Giants Tuesday night at Citi Field.
Steven Matz surrendered a two-run homer to toasty Evan Longoria in the first inning and that looked like it was going to be enough, as old nemesis Chris Stratton blanked the Mets over six strong innings.
But the Mets tied the score in the 7th when Longoria didn’t field a ball hit by ex-teammate Austin Jackson and Hunter Pence lollipopped a throw from left field that Wilmer Flores, who doubled earlier in the inning, was able to beat to the plate.
With Stratton out of the game, the Mets tacked on four runs in the eighth inning. Jeff McNeil, who had his second 4-hit game, hit an opposite-field double to give the Mets the lead. With a lefty on the mound, the Giants opted to walk Flores to get to Michael Conforto, who made them pay when he blasted a three-run homer.
Conforto has a .776 OPS versus southpaws this year, including a .450 SLG mark. Those numbers are .755 and .396, respectively, against righties.
The late offensive made a winner out of Corey Oswalt, who came on in relief of Matz and pitched three scoreless innings where he allowed just one hit. Matz settled down nicely after the homer, retiring 14 of the last 15 batters he faced.