A day to remember: Mets turn tide, grab series win over Mariners at Little League Classic

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The Mets were taking their pointers from the little leaguers on Sunday night.

A day spent at the Little League World Series, bringing awe to the young players from across the globe, brought a steady reminder to get back to ground level.

Sometimes, it's as easy as "See ball. Hit ball."

"It took me back to where everything started and how simple their hitting cues are," Francisco Lindor said. "I asked a a few of the guys and one that stuck to me was, 'I'm just looking at the ball and hitting it.' It makes a lot of sense.

"For them the game is simple and at the level we are, when we have success, we keep it as simple as possible. So I take that. I take a lot of the smiles with me."

The Mets offense continued its recent tear, piling up 14 hits and running away for a 7-3 victory over the Mariners in front of a boisterous, yet intimate, crowd on Sunday night at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.

"When you win, you celebrate a little bit more. It feels good to have the aura together there, to be up and to love each other and celebrate each other's successes," Lindor said. "It's a good thing right now. At the end of the day, we enjoy tonight. It was a fantastic day overall. Then turn the page."

An elusive series win for the Mets

Before the Mets set out from Citi Field for the Little League Classic, members of the team knew there would be fun to be had. They also understood the task at hand.

After the team arrived in the morning, there was plenty of smiles and laughs.

When they landed at the airport, they were greeted by the teams from the Mountain and the Latin America teams, the latter representing Carlos Mendoza's hometown of Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

Once they arrived at the Little League Complex, Mark Vientos faced his fears and fulfilled a childhood dream of sliding down the massive hill behind Lamade Stadium on a makeshift cardboard toboggan.

"I was nervous and then a couple of the guys pushed me to do it," Vientos said. "It was fun. Being around the kids and in this environment brings back memories of just playing with the guys you grew up with around your neighborhood. You were just playing the game very simple."

The only thing sweeter then breaking the tension of a recent skid was a positive result at the end to cap the day.

It marked the Mets' first series victory since July 25-27 when they swept the Giants as part of a seven-game win streak. Since then, the Mets had dropped five straight series including back-to-back sweeps as part of a seven-game losing streak.

"It feels good, but again, one day at a time mentality. We need to start winning series," Mendoza said. "We know we're good. It's been rough, it's been tough for all of us, but there's no looking back now. All we got to do is just worry about what we need to do today to get a W and continue to win series."

The only concern came late in the seventh inning when Francisco Alvarez jammed his thumb into second base on a headfirst slide. He will return to New York for an MRI on Monday.

Don't count out Mark Vientos

During the Mets' recent struggles, losing 14 games out of their last 17 entering Sunday, not many leads had been safe.

On Sunday, the Mets offense finally built an advantage that proved insurmountable against Mariners George Kirby.

It began in the second inning when the Mets knocked four straight hits, including an RBI double by Alvarez and RBI single by Brett Baty. A sacrifice fly by Vientos moved the Mets ahead 3-0.

After the Mariners got within 3-1, Vientos broke the game open sending an opposite-field three-run home run to right field to boost the Mets ahead 6-1 before Lindor tacked on an RBI double.

"I know he had good two-seam action on his fastball, so I was just trying to see him middle-middle and not try to do too much," Vientos said.

It was an encouraging night for Vientos, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI and a run. The home run was his eighth of the season. Vientos has seen irregular playing time amid early struggles and the rise of Brett Baty and presence of Ronny Mauricio.

"It's not an easy role, but that's kind of the messaging with him and some of the younger guys, like they gotta stay ready," Mendoza said. "And to his credit, proud of him, to have a game like that against a really good arm, is pretty impressive. We need him."

Clay Holmes picks up 10th win

By this time, Clay Holmes is now a seasoned veteran of the Little League Classic after pitching in two other iterations with the Pirates and Yankees.

Now, he can add a winner of the event to his ledger.

Holmes worked five innings, allowing one earned run on five hits and one walk to improve to 10-6 and chisel his ERA to 3.64.

After being removed after 3⅔ innings in two of his last three starts, Holmes was able to work through the rough inning on Sunday. In the fourth inning, Holmes allowed a leadoff double to Julio Rodriguez and an RBI single to Jorge Polanco to cut the Mets' advantage to 3-1.

The Mariners loaded the bases with another hit and a walk but after Holmes fell behind 3-0 to Cole Young, but the Mets righty induced a pop-up to get through the jam. The lengthy inning had been Holmes' Achilles heel in recent weeks.

"Today it was just kind of maybe a little bit more freedom using my pitches," Holmes said. "Kind of sitting in the zone instead of just forcing my best stuff. I feel like sometimes when I get in that mode, the zone can kind of come and go a little bit."

Holmes threw 29 pitches in the frame but bounced back efficiently to get back in line for the win, tossing a perfect fifth inning including his fourth and final strikeout of the game against Randy Arozarena.

"I thought he was really good in the strike zone," Mendoza said. "I thought the changeup was good. The sweeper was good. The sinker got ground balls. He stayed on the attack. When he's doing that, he's pretty nasty."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets turn tide, series win over Mariners at Little League Classic