Francisco Lindor homered for the second straight game Taijuan Walker retired 18 straight batters and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Saturday.
Walker (5-2) pitched into the seventh inning for the Mets, who have won three in a row and five of six. They reached 44 wins for the season, the most in the National League and improved their record to 21 games over the .500 mark, their best record of the season.
Through six innings and in front of a large crowd on a cold and windy day, Walker threw one-run ball and struck out nine.
Jon Berti hit a single to start the game and stole a base in each of his next two at-bats, but the speedy runner was left stranded in the lanes as the right-hander struck out his foes each time.
As the wind blew napkins, client dog wraps and other debris across the field, Walker dominated the Marlins with a mixture of four-seam, sinker, slider and splitter pitching.
Lindor found a fastball from Braxton Garrett (1-2), on a 2-2 count, and sent the ball over the fence to left-center field to drive in Starling Marte and give the Mets a lead. from 3-0.
The Puerto Rican pointed to the area where his family was sitting, after reaching home plate.
For the Marlins, Cuban Jorge Soler 4-0. The Venezuelans Avisaíl García 4-1 with an RBI, Miguel Rojas 3-0. The Dominicans Lewin Díaz 3-0, Bryan de la Cruz 3-0.
For the Mets, the Dominican Marte 4-2 with a run scored. Puerto Ricans Lindor 4-1 with one run scored and two RBIs, Tomás Nido. The Venezuelan Eduardo Escobar 3-0.
