Mets show renewed resolve in their biggest comeback of the season

NEW YORK — Within the first few minutes of a news conference after the New York Mets’ 7-6 walk-off win over the New York Yankees on Sunday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said the same word four times.

Fight.

For weeks, Mets officials kept saying that they believed in their team because of “the talent in the room.”

The reality is that turning things around requires more. Last season, talent wasn’t enough. This season, injuries have stripped the Mets of much of their talent. Outside of maybe the specific case of Bo Bichette, the task for the Mets is no longer about playing to their talent level.

It’s about resilience.

The Mets trailed by three runs heading into the ninth inning Sunday. The Mets had been 0-91 when trailing after eight innings since the start of last season. It was the longest such streak in the major leagues.

“That’s impressive, right? That’s hard to do,” Mendoza said with a smile. “Baseball, it’s hard to explain at times. Now, we continue to come back in games. We get down, we get punched in the face, we get back up. Today was a perfect example.”

It was the Mets’ best win of the season. Tyrone Taylor’s three-run home run in the ninth inning tied the score at 6-6. Carson Benge’s chopper with the Yankees’ infield drawn in and featuring five defenders scored Marcus Semien from third base to win it in the 10th. The four-run deficit they erased (they trailed 5-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning) represented their biggest comeback of the season.

It was the Mets’ best week of the season. In their homestand, they went 5-1. Each of their five wins featured a comeback.

For a while, it was one of the Mets’ worst games of the season (they are 20-26; there’s a lot to choose from).

“We didn’t play our best,” Mendoza said.

An understatement. On a day the Mets needed innings from a starter, Freddy Peralta didn’t have command of his fastball, issued six walks and failed to record an out in the sixth inning. Bichette, who holds a .530 OPS, dropped a routine popup, allowing the Yankees to add another run in the sixth inning. In the seventh inning, Sean Manaea walked Max Schuemann to load the bases and then gave up another free pass to Anthony Volpe, the next batter. For most of the game, things looked ugly.

Then things changed. Instead of rolling over, panicking or simply continuing to play poorly, the Mets fought back. Manaea kept pitching and didn’t allow a run in the eighth or ninth.

After Benge led off the ninth inning with a single, Bichette singled to put runners on first and second. Juan Soto grounded into a fielder’s choice, hustling down the line for the Mets to maintain two runners on base. Then Taylor, carrying an 0-for-2 day and sub-.200 batting average, came to the plate. He said he was anticipating a curveball from Yankees closer David Bednar after he watched Mark Vientos, the previous batter, see two of them. On the first pitch he saw from Bednar, a curveball, Taylor connected for a 404-foot home run.

“Not only are we winning games, we are getting contributions from guys who have been struggling,” Mendoza said. “That’s what it’s going to take.”

When asked about his emotions regarding his performance, Taylor’s words were certainly appropriate for the team as a whole: “Bummed out to happy.”

The Mets keep showing a grittiness that was previously lacking. Perhaps the youth infusion has helped; it’s not just Benge. A.J. Ewing, who was called up Tuesday, reached base four more times Sunday and executed a terrific bunt to move Semien to third base in the 10th inning. It seems like it extends beyond that, though.

Ahead of Sunday’s game, veteran players expressed confidence in the Mets’ ability to turn things around, pointing to something they couldn’t quite measure: resolve. It showed up Saturday after they processed the news of Clay Holmes’ injury. It showed up again Sunday. It’s going to need to show up again and again, considering the Mets’ regulars like Francisco Lindor are not close to returning from respective stints on the injured list.

The Mets took two out of three from the Yankees (28-19). They have won four of their last five series. They remain six games below .500. But players, in private conversations, seem to sincerely be buying into the idea of racking up series wins without getting caught up too much in the standings. It’s at least a start, considering where the Mets were previously.

“We now gotta start playing better, period — it’s been rough, but that’s in the past,” Mendoza said. “There’s a long way to go, but it’s important for us to continue to carry that momentum.”