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NEW YORK (AP) – Eager to win after an emotion – filled day at Citi Field, the New York Mets sent the man on his team in the 10th inning.
Wilmer Flores dominated the deciding race and the Mets stopped their series of seven defeats on Tuesday night, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 hours after chief executive Sandy Alderson resigned because his cancer came back.
"We really wanted to focus and make sure we're bouncing today, every day, and playing a little better," said outfielder Michael Conforto. "I think we showed a little fight there."
In a match that was difficult after a hard blow to second base, Conforto made a home run and Flores got three RBIs for the Mets (32-45), who won for the second time in 16 games at home. They had lost 24 out of 30 during a frantic skid that wiped out an early season of 11-1.
New York has won three victories this year and Flores has provided the latest impetus to each and every one of them. He leads the majors with nine points produced since 2014, which corresponds to David Wright for the story of Mets.
"It was hard to be playing, but you have to focus," Flores said. "Sandy is one of us and we support him 100% and hope that he will get better."
Before the match, the players said that Alderson, 70, was a little collapsed when addressing the club team. During the surprise press conference that followed, his voice trembled when he spoke of his illness.
He and the chief of operations, Jeff Wilpon, announced that Alderson was taking a leave. Alderson said his prognosis is good, but he does not expect to return to work, in part because it's "not sure that coming back is justified".
Deputy General Manager John Ricco and Special Assistants JP Ricciardi and Omar Minaya will lead the club's baseball operations in the absence of Alderson, diagnosed with cancer at the end of the 2015 season – when the Mets have reached the World Series. At the time, he was operated on and underwent chemotherapy, but continued to work full time.
"Honestly, I'm here – we're all here – because he believed in us," said Mets pitcher Steven Matz. "And I personally think for myself, especially now in these circumstances, I want to prove that he was right, so yes, there was definitely an additional emotion to hear this news."
The two canoes and shelters were emptied in the eighth, when the spirits ignited after a clean throw from Josh Harrison that prevented the Mets from turning a double game at the end of the round.
Harrison went straight into the bag, forcing second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera to jump over him while he was performing a weak stint of a jump to the first base that was too late.
"I do not think I even touched him," Harrison said. "I played a double game without touching the guy or hurting the guy, but at the end of the day, I think it's playing the right game."
Reliever Jeurys Familia said something to Harrison, however, and both began to chew back and forth. As the players rushed to the field, Familia and Harrison – a second baseman himself – were separated. Cabrera looked for Harrison and gave him a big hug during the brief skirmish, an obvious recognition that he had no problem with the slide.
"It's over and done," Harrison said. "I think what (Familia) saw, it 's just the last part, he could have turned around and seen Cabrera limping, it' s not because I 've contacted him. "
No fist was fired, and Familia was pumped when he launched a base-loaded threat.
"Maybe it was a good thing we cleaned up the benches, showed some fighting and fire," said Mets manager Mickey Callaway.
Conforto got a 10-point lead from Steven Brault (5-2) and was second when Todd Frazier scored. Cabrera opened the scoring for the first exit, but Flores hit a shot just inside the third base to hit Conforto.
Tim Peterson (1-0) earned three out of five shots for his first major league win.
Gregory Polanco made his homo for the second consecutive game and earned a singles for the Pirates, who lost six out of seven.
Conforto went deep into the seventh, connecting reliever Edgar Santana. New York also got seven effective Matz innings and a fine defense of 37-year-old right fielder Jose Bautista.
Flores grounded a single two-point with two outs in the first to give the Mets ahead. They took advantage of a pair of Chad Kuhl's wild shots that overtook receiver Elias Diaz, who also made two errors in the inning.
Pittsburgh pitched four wild pitches, all in the first six innings.
ROSTER MOVE
New York recalled RHP Gerson Bautista from Triple-A Las Vegas and opted for INF Luis Guillorme for his best farm team. Guillorme made two expensive mistakes on Monday's third goal.
TRAINER ROOM
Pirates: Kuhl was retired after four innings with right forearm discomfort. … The rookie of Austin Meadows was hit in the helmet by a Matz 84-mph speed change in the first run. Meadows was controlled by manager Clint Hurdle and a coach, but he stayed in the game.
Mets: OF Brandon Nimmo, hit by a field on his right hand Sunday, came off the bench for the second consecutive game. This time, he had the opportunity to swing, but he made a typo.
FOLLOWING
RHP pirates Ivan Nova (4-5, 3.98) start the final of the series on Wednesday night against RHP Zack Wheeler (2-6, 4.85).
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More baseball AP: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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