Access the Mets beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Mets rallied late Wednesday, but the hit they needed to celebrate a comeback victory never arrived.
And the Twins got just what they needed in the 10th inning.
Reed Garrett surrendered a leadoff single to Ty France in the frame, sending automatic runner Byron Buxton home in a 4-3 loss for the Mets at Target Field in the series rubber game.
Pete Alonso walked to open the 10th inning — putting runners on first and second including the automatic — but Jesse Winker hit into a double play before Brandon Nimmo was retired.
The Mets were lethargic offensively for most of the afternoon, but finally got rolling in the eighth, when they scored three runs on four hits to tie the game against reliever Griffin Jax.
In his major league debut, Justin Hagenman allowed one earned run over 3 1/3 innings after Huascar Brazoban served as the opener. Hagenman allowed three hits and struck out four.
Brazoban pitched a scoreless first inning before walking Trevor Larnach to begin the second. Hagenman entered the game at that point.
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS
Winker was thrown out at the plate in the second inning attempting to score from second on Nimmo’s single to left. Harrison Bader’s throw nailed Winker, who missed home plate on his first approach.
Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch in the fifth to load the bases and with the infield drawn in, Juan Soto hit a grounder to Edouard Julien that the Twins second baseman turned into an inning-ending double play. Julien tagged Lindor and then beat Soto to first base.
Jose Butto surrendered a single to Bader in the sixth that produced the game’s first run. The run was charged to Hagenman, who surrendered a leadoff double to Willi Castro. Byron Buxton delivered an RBI single later in the inning that put the Mets in a 2-0 hole.
The Mets were without a replay challenge in the sixth when Butto beat Castro to first base on a ball Alonso stopped. Castro was ruled safe, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead. Ryan Jeffers never stopped running from second base to score the run with two outs.
Alonso and Winker stroked consecutive RBI doubles in the eighth to pull the Mets within 3-2. Luisangel Acuna’s RBI single tied it.
Lindor began the rally with a single, giving him a 20-game hitting streak in this ballpark — the longest by an opponent in Target Field’s history.