NEW YORK — Francisco Álvarez hit a tying three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning and Pete Alonso hit a game-ending three-run shot in the 10th, giving the New York Mets an improbable 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
New York trailed 2-0 before Mark Vientos tied the score with a two-run homer in the seventh off side-armer Ryan Thompson.
Brandon Lowe put the Rays back ahead with a two-run homer off Adam Ottavino in a three-run eighth that built a 5-2 lead.
Álvarez homered on a sweeper from Jason Adam, a 426-foot shot off the facing of the left-field second deck, to send the game into extra innings. The Rays opened a 7-5 lead when pinch-hitter Harold Ramirez and Josh Lowe had run-scoring singles in the 10th against David Robertson (1-0).
Jeff McNeil singled off Pete Fairbanks (0-1) leading off the bottom half, and Alonso pulled a fastball into the left-field second deck for his 15th home run of the season, sending the Mets running onto the field following their first walk-off win this season. It was the fourth career walk-off homer for Alonso, and the Mets won for the first time this year in a game they trailed by three runs.
New York and the major league-best Rays meet Thursday in the rubber game of the series.