The Mets used small ball to build an early lead before turning the power on in the fifth inning.
Mark Vientos had four RBI (including a three-run round-tripper during that four-run fifth) and Clay Holmes struck out four over five innings of one-run ball to carry the Mets (66-58) to a 7-3 win over the Seattle Mariners (68-57) in the Little League Classic at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Penn.
The game got underway following a 35-minute weather delay caused by heavy rain earlier in the evening, but the Mets wasted little time attacking Mariners starter George Kirby.
After a quiet first inning, Pete Alonso led off the bottom of the second with a single, followed by Jeff McNeil doing the same. A double from Francisco Alvarez plated Alonso, a single by Brett Baty brought McNeil home and Alvarez dashed home on a sac fly from Vientos.
Julio Rodriguez, who had some difficulty navigating center field at the small ballpark, scored on a Jorge Polanco single in the fourth to get the Mariners a run back before the Mets started slugging in the fifth and chased Kirby out of the game.
After Vientos’ no-doubter, Cedric Mullins touched home after a Francisco Lindor double to make it 7-1.
The Mariners attempted to rally, sparked by a two-run blast from Cal Raleigh (his league-leading 47th of the year) off Reed Garrett in the seventh to trim the deficit to four, but they’d get no closer.
Alvarez appeared to jam his right throwing hand on the bag while stretching a single into a double in the bottom half of the frame. He was replaced behind the plate by Luis Torrens in the top of the eighth. The extent of his injury was unclear postgame.
Ryan Helsley walked one and struck out two in a scoreless eighth. The Mariners managed two singles in the ninth before Tyler Rogers induced a weak grounder by Josh Naylor to give the Mets their second straight win.
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