Mets hit three homers and new bullpen passes first test in win over Guardians after sell-off

1 hour ago 4

CLEVELAND — Name tags might have been appropriate within the Mets clubhouse Tuesday, a day after president of baseball operations David Stearns finished his trade deadline sell-off.

The anonymous new Mets included Nate Lavender, Jefry Yan and Chayse McDermott. More familiar — yet largely forgotten — names such as Dedniel Núñez and Cristian Pache also arrived.

Life after Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazobán and Brooks Raley, to name a few, wasn’t so bad for the Mets on this night, who received three home runs and strong work from one of the bullpen newcomers in a 6-2 victory over the Guardians at Progressive Field.

Luis Torrens, Bo Bichette and Carson Benge all went deep to help the Mets end a three-game losing streak.

Lavender, in his major league debut, pitched 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings to pick up where Raley and A.J. Minter — the two lefty relievers traded by the Mets in recent days — left off.

The new look bullpen included Kodai Senga shifted from long relief to pitching the ninth. The right-hander worked a scoreless inning.

The Mets received a third straight solid outing from Sean Manaea, but the left-hander lived dangerously: he allowed seven hits and five walks, yielding two runs over six innings with seven strikeouts.

Sean Manaea of the New York Mets throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. Getty Images

It was Manaea’s third straight start pitching six innings and allowing two earned runs or fewer.

Torrens blasted a three-run homer in the second inning to get the Mets started. The homer was the third season for Torrens, whose playing time behind the plate has increased, sliding Francisco Alvarez into an occasional DH role. Alvarez started at DH on this night.

Bichette homered on the first pitch of the third inning to extend the Mets’ lead to 4-0. Bichette’s blast was his 11th this season.

Nate Lavender of the Mets throws a pitch during the seventh inning of his Major League debut against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Getty Images

After the Guardians scored a run on Angel Martinez’s RBI double in the third, the Mets countered in the fourth.

They took a 5-1 lead on Torrens’ RBI single after Marcus Semien had walked leading off the inning and advanced to second on a groundout.

New York Mets catcher Luis Torrens celebrates his three-run home run in the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Manaea surrendered an RBI single to Travis Bazzana in the fifth that sliced the Mets’ lead to 5-2. Manaea allowed a walk and single before Bazzana delivered.

Benge smashed a 451-foot homer to center field in the eighth inning to give the Mets a 6-2 lead. The homer was Benge’s 12th this season.

Read Entire Article