NEW YORK – All it took to break out the Mets’ attack was a birthday punch and a friendly elbow.
On his 29th birthday, Jeff McNeil hit a game-tying homer on Thursday in the bottom of the ninth inning at Citi Field, and Michael Conforto followed with a controversial walk-off hit-by-pitch off Marlin’s reliever Anthony Bass. a 3-2 Mets win.
The Mets struggled all afternoon to score against Nick Neidert and three Marlins relievers. But facing a one-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth, McNeil led off with a homer in the second deck in rightfield. He became the 16th Mets player to homer on his birthday.
With one out, Luis Guillorme and Brandon Nimmo produced back-to-back hits to put two men in scoring position. The Marlins responded by intentionally walking Francisco Lindor to bring up Conforto, who had struggled during the start of the season. Conforto fell into a 0-2 hole before leaning his right elbow into Bass’s field. Referees got on the move to overhaul the game, and it was finally confirmed when the Mets were celebrating on the field.