In the wake of a chaotic Wednesday that saw several concerning injuries, a concerning in-game and postgame meltdown from a reliever that led to a DFA and the always-concerning players-only meeting, the Mets were in desperate need of not just a breath of life but of stability.
Which made a series of step-ups from some of the most veteran members of the club a rare, hopeful sign in a season that has been a struggle.
Francisco Lindor’s bat gave the Mets a chance.
Pete Alonso ignored a bruised right hand and came off the bench to jump-start a late rally.
And J.D. Martinez’s blast put the finishing touches on a 3-2 comeback win over the Diamondbacks in a series-opener in front of 20,926 at Citi Field on Thursday.
The Mets (23-33) halted a three-game skid and hope they have pulled up from an all-out plummet.
The win was just their second in the past 10 games and fifth in their past 20.
They had not won a series-opener since all the way back on May 6 in St. Louis.
They are 1-0, though, since Lindor surveyed the team and realized they needed to talk.
“It felt good to contribute to a team win,” Lindor said after calling a meeting one day and going 4-for-4 the next. “This is not about being the main character of calling a team meeting. That’s not what it’s about. Anyone could have had a good night tonight and I would’ve been happy.”
Martinez called the closed-door session Wednesday “one of the better meetings” the 14-year vet has been in.
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“Let’s start having fun again and start enjoying this,” Martinez, whose eighth-inning, dead-center homer became the game-winner, said of the primary message. “If we lose, we lose. … Turn off the pressure. It doesn’t exist. I said in the meeting: ‘No one thinks we’re going to win 100 games this year.’
“We have no pressure on us.”
The Mets were trailing, 2-1, and struggling against a series of Arizona relievers — starter Zac Gallen was removed with a hamstring strain while facing his second batter of the game — before launching their rally starting in the seventh.
