PHOENIX — Too little, too late for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday against the New York Mets, as they rallied for three runs in the eighth inning but fell 5-4 in the series opener.
Corbin Carroll led off the first with a home run to put the D-backs ahead 1-0, but Mets starter Griffin Canning delivered five scoreless frames from there.
After six dormant innings for Arizona’s offense, it found life in the eighth.
Mets reliever Dedniel Núñez walked three straight hitters in his season debut. With one out, Josh Naylor lined an RBI single, and then Eugenio Suarez slammed a 412-foot single off the wall in center field.
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Suarez’s knock — the furthest single hit this season — scored two runs. It would have been a home run in 21 other ballparks. Suarez had to retreat to first as Naylor stopped at second after holding to see if the ball would be caught.
Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. failed to get the tying run in, however, and Mets closer Edwin Diaz shut the door in the ninth. Alek Thomas reached base on an error to lead off the inning but was thrown out trying to steal second ahead of Geraldo Perdomo, Carroll and Ketel Marte.
The Diamondbacks have dropped three of their last four games and eight of 12. Their offense has scored four runs or fewer in six of seven games.
New York’s Pete Alonso put the Mets ahead with a two-run shot in the fourth off starter Ryne Nelson, and Francisco Lindor broke the game open with a three-run shot off Ryan Thompson to go ahead 5-1 in the seventh.
D-backs lefty Tommy Henry provided 2.2 scoreless innings in relief to keep the game alive, stranding a runner on third with Juan Soto at the plate in the ninth.
Ryne Nelson starts for Corbin Burnes
The Diamondbacks pushed Monday’s original probable starter Corbin Burnes back to Saturday due to right shoulder inflammation. Nelson filled in for his first start of the season, as the D-backs kept him in a long relief role out of spring training.
Nelson shut out the Mets through three innings, helped by a Carroll outfield assist at the plate.
Tyrone Taylor attempted to score on a fly ball to right field, and Carroll one-hopped catcher Gabriel Moreno to apply the tag. Carroll has four outfield assists this season.
Nelson walked Soto to lead off the fourth, as Nelson threw Soto eight straight balls on Monday. Alonso then crushed a cutter up in the zone 425 feet, his ninth of the season.
Nelson finished with 4.1 innings pitched and two earned runs on only three hits, four walks and a hit-by-pitch. It wasn’t the smoothest outing, and the D-backs could have used some length with a taxed bullpen, but he kept them in the game early while working on a pitch count.
Diamondbacks next game
The series continues on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. with Zac Gallen (4.93 ERA) starting against Mets left-hander David Peterson (3.06 ERA).
Arizona won the second and third games of its set at Citi Field last week. The D-backs have not won a season series against the Mets since 2017.
Catch the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
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