(New York) Pete Alonso homered and Jacob deGrom was good enough off the mound to force the New York Mets to a game-ending first-round series.
Posted at 12:34 a.m.
The Mets beat the San Diego Padres 7-3 on Saturday night in Game 2 of the series.
Francisco Lindor also sent the ball over the fence, Jeff McNeil made a vital double and Edwin Díaz came in much earlier than usual to protect a one-run lead in the seventh inning.
The Mets opened the scoring with four runs in the first half, courtesy of a McNeil double off Adrian Morejon.
Seth Lugo retired Josh Bell, with the bases loaded, to conclude the game, which lasted 4 hours and 13 minutes.
The two teams will play a third final game on Sunday evening at Citi Field. The winner will advance to a best-of-five series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who sit first in the Nationals. This series of semi-finals will begin on Tuesday.
Joe Musgrove is expected to start the game for the Padres. He will be opposed to Chris Bassitt, winner of 15 games this season.
Mets leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo had three hits and walked one for the Mets. He notably hit a single in the fourth that chased away Padres starter Blake Snell.
The left-hander walked four times against the first 12 batters he faced. In three and a third innings, he conceded six walks.
In a duel between the 2018 Cy-Young winners, deGrom struck out eight batters and allowed two runs. He signed his fourth career playoff victory.
It was his first home playoff start — the right-hander helped the Mets qualify for the World Series in 2015, but all four of his playoff starts have come on the road.