NEW YORK — Pinch-hitter Jesse Winker led off the ninth inning with his first home run for the New York Mets, giving them another rousing 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Mets starter Sean Manaea retired his first 17 batters and Mark Vientos put New York ahead 3-2 with a solo homer in the seventh. Francisco Lindor also went deep and J.
D. Martinez drove in a run with a grounder to help the Mets take two of three in the series. New York began the day 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the final National League playoff berth, with the Braves scheduled to host Philadelphia later.
Following a 5-4 homestand, the Mets begin a pivotal 10-game trip Thursday night with the first of four at San Diego. Edwin Díaz (5-1) struck out two in a perfect inning for his second win of the series. The first came Monday night, when Francisco Alvarez’s solo homer in the ninth gave the Mets a 4-3 victory.
Seranthony Domínguez (3-4) gave up both game-ending longballs. Acquired from Washington in a July 28 trade, Winker fought back from 0-2 and drove a 98 mph full-count fastball the other way to left-center for his second walk-off homer in the majors. His 12th home run of the season was his second as a pinch hitter and the sixth of his career.
A pumped-up Winker fired his helmet to the ground and stopped to flex in the direction of the New York dugout before beginning his trot around the bases. He paused again between third base and home plate, then finally joined his teammates wh.