The Mets and Mariners headed to Williamsburg for the final game of the series, which was the 2025 Little League World Classic. Clay Holmes was starting for the Mets, coming off a rough start where he gave up five runs in less than four innings. The Mariners were starting George Kirby, who had been having a typical season for him, if not slightly worse than his career averages.
It was an inauspicious start for Holmes, who led off the game by hitting Randy Arozarena with a pitch. But he struck out Cal Raleigh and got Julio Rodríguez to ground into a double play to get out of it without any real damage. Francisco Lindor led off the bottom of the first with a single, but was caught stealing, and Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo each grounded out to end the inning before it could really get started.
Other than a one-out single by Eugenio Suárez, the Mariners were quiet in the second. In the bottom of the inning, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil hit consecutive singles to put two runners on with no outs. Francisco Alvarez doubled to bring in the first run of the game, and Brett Baty singled to drive in the second run. Mark Vientos hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring in the Mets’ third run of the inning and give the Mets their first out. Cedric Mullins and Lindor both got out to end the inning and strand Baty.
Other than a lead off single by J.P. Crawford, the Mariners went down quietly in the third. The Mets drew two walks in the bottom of the third but neither runner came in to score. Rodríguez led off the fourth with a double, then was driven in on a Jorge Polanco single after two consecutive outs as the Mariners first run. Holmes faced a little more danger with a Dominic Canzone single and Crawford walking, but he got out of the jam with no other runs scoring. A couple singles and a walk led to the bases being loaded in the bottom of the inning with two outs, but the Mets were unable to convert any runners into runs.
The Mariners went down in order in the top of the fifth. The Mets had an eventful bottom of the fifth. McNeil and Alvarez hit consecutive one-out singles, and after Baty flew out, Vientos hit a home run to put the Mets ahead by five runs. Mullins doubled and Lindor doubled to drive in Mullins as the Mets seventh run of the game, and that drove Kirby from the game, replaced by Tayler Saucedo. Saucedo was able to get Soto to ground out and end the inning.
Brooks Raley came in to pitch for the Mets in the sixth, and while a double and a walk with two outs could’ve spelled trouble, he got out of it before either could score. The Mets went down in order in the bottom of the inning. Reed Garrett came in in the top of the seventh to replace Raley. An Arozarena one-out single turned into a two-run Raleigh home run, which shrunk the Mets’ lead to four runs. Garrett got out of it after that but the Mets had a little less wiggle room. Alvarez doubled to lead off the bottom of the eighth, but he jammed his thumb sliding into second which prompted his replacement by Luis Torrens at the end of the inning, after the Mets stranded Alvarez by getting three consecutive outs.
Ryan Helsley had one of his best appearances since coming to the Mets in the eighth, a clean inning with the exception of a two-out walk. Jackson Kowar came in in the bottom of the inning to relieve Saucedo. Soto drew a one-out walk and stole second, his twentieth stolen base of the season. Nimmo singled to put two runners on, but both were stranded. Tyler Rogers came in to close the game, and despite some trouble brewing in a pair of two-out singles from Raleigh and Rodríguez, Rogers was able to shut the door without allowing another run.
The Mets series win was their first since their sweep in San Francisco at the end of July. They’re taking momentum into a two week stretch of playing divisional rivals, starting with a trip to Washington that begins on Tuesday. They got a much needed win on the heels of another much needed win as they look to ensure a playoff berth over the final month-plus of the season.
Big Mets winner: Clay Holmes, +16.4% WPA
Big Mets loser: Brandon Nimmo, -6.9% WPA
Mets pitchers: +19.6% WPA
Mets hitters: +30.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Mark Vientos’ three-run home run in the fifth, +14.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jorge Polanco’s RBI single in the fourth, -7.0% WPA