METS 9, TWINS 6
NEW YORK (AP) - Jake Odorizzi and Minnesota's bullpen suddenly went wild, allowing seven straight batters to reach base despite not hitting a single fair ball and letting Noah Syndergaard and New York stroll past the Twins.
One day after the teams set a Citi Field record by totaling 10 home runs in the Twins' 14-8 romp, the Mets barely had to swing to build a big lead.
A startling stretch that kept snowballing saw Odorizzi, newly promoted reliever Andrew Vasquez and Trevor Hildenberger combine to walk six and hit a batter with a pitch without getting an out. At one point, the Twins threw 21 pitches - 19 missed the strike zone, many of them bouncing or sailing all over.
Wilson Ramos grounded a two-run single that capped the crazy six-run rally in the fifth inning. The Mets could've scored more, but Jeff McNeil was picked off third after hesitating on a bases-loaded pitch that skittered to the backstop.
Syndergaard (1-1) had permitted just two hits in taking a 9-1 lead into the eighth, and was pulled after giving up a single, double and triple to begin the inning.
It had already been a strange season for Odorizzi (0-2) - he struck out 11 against Cleveland, then got only two outs while being tagged by Philadelphia - before this bizarre start.