Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte slams game-winning home run vs. Mets

Jun 2, 2024, 1:38 PM | Updated: Jun 3, 2024, 7:17 am

Ketel Marte #4 of the Arizona Diamondbacks is congratulated in the dugout by teammates after hitting a home run during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 2, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

(Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

BY ALEX WEINER

Diamondbacks reporter, ArizonaSports.com editor

Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte came up clutch with a go-ahead, two-run shot in the ninth inning for a 5-4 win against the New York Mets at Citi Field on Sunday.

Marte led off the game with a homer and reached base five times, matching a career high.

Marte’s second long ball came on a 2-2 sweeper from former D-backs left-hander Jake Diekman that flew 439 feet to center field.

Ketel Marte’s 2nd homer of the day goes 439 feet and gives the @Dbacks a 9th-inning lead! pic.twitter.com/I7vYk6lA0q

— MLB (@MLB) June 2, 2024

Pinch hitter Gabriel Moreno doubled to right field while down 4-3 to lead off the ninth inning ahead of Marte.

Closer Paul Sewald picked up the save against his former team. The D-backs salvaged a split in New York after dropping the first two games and finished the road trip 2-4.

Arizona went ahead 3-0 early after Marte and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered in the first inning off Mets starter Jose Quintana. When the D-backs hit two or more home runs, they are 11-6.

New York went ahead with four runs off D-backs starter Brandon Pfaadt in the third inning, but Pfaadt and the bullpen held firm from there. Pfaadt pushed through six innings, and the bullpen retired all nine Mets it faced.

The D-backs (27-32) stranded runners in scoring position in four of the first eight innings before they broke through in the ninth.

Ketel Marte dominant vs. Mets

Marte finished 3-for-3 with a double, walk and a hit-by-pitch along with the two home runs.

Sunday was the seventh multi-home run game of his career and the third time he reached base five times. His double moved him to fourth on Arizona’s franchise leaderboard with 197, tied with Chris Young.

The switch-hitter entered the game 2-for-31 over the past eight games. He is tied with Christian Walker for the team lead with 12 home runs.

The offense accounted for seven extra-base hits and scored at least five runs in three straight games for the first time since April 2-6. This is the first time all season the offense scored five runs in three straight games that lasted nine innings.

Marte, Moreno, Randal Grichuk and Blaze Alexander recorded doubles.

Justin Martinez comes up huge in New York

Justin Martinez retired six straight Mets in relief. He struck out the side against the top of New York’s batting order — Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo — in the eighth inning. Lindor appeared to give him a slight look of acknowledgement after swinging through a filthy splitter.

Martinez recorded 5.0 scoreless innings against the Mets in this series, and his ERA dropped to 0.44.