Bare-chested Mark Vientos stood flexing his muscles to the fans saluting him behind the Mets dugout Friday night.
Vientos lost his jersey in a celebration at home plate worthy of this kind of moment.
He had just walked off the Reds in the 10th inning with his second two-run homer of the game and finally the Mets could release their emotion.
“I kind of said it last month when we went through that phase of losing a couple of games: ‘We’re going to get hot at the right time,’ ” Vientos said after the Mets won 6-4 at Citi Field to extend their winning streak to a season-high eight games. “And I think September is the right time to get hot.”
Vientos culminated an eight-pitch plate appearance leading off the 10th with a blast over the left-field fence on a 97-mph fastball from lefty Justin Wilson.
The walk-off homer was Vientos’ second this season, adding another highlight to what has been a remarkable emergence for the 24-year-old third baseman.
Where would the Mets be without Vientos and his .905 OPS? Probably planning for 2025.
“He’s been everything,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s just really cool and special to see someone that went through a lot early in the year and for him to have these kinds of numbers and come through … he continues to help us win games.”
Vientos took a tough inside cutter for a ball to begin his at-bat against Wilson — a signal to Mendoza that Vientos had the right mindset.
“After he took that first pitch, the cutter, and the way he took it, I was like, ‘The game is over here,’ ” Mendoza said. “His ability to slow the game down, his awareness of the situation, not trying to do too much, that is pretty special right there.”
The Mets (77-64) remained even with the Braves in the race for the National League’s third wild-card. But they gained on the Diamondbacks, whose lead for the second wild card shriveled to two games.
The Mets received strong relief from Reed Garrett, Edwin Diaz and Jose Butto, who combined for 3 ¹/₃ scoreless innings.
Diaz struck out the side in the ninth after three of the four batters that faced Garrett whiffed.
Butto worked a perfect 10th inning.
“We have got a really good group in the clubhouse,” Diaz said. “We just try to keep everything simple and when we have a chance to take the lead, we take it and we finish them.”
Sean Manaea allowed only three hits over 6 ²/₃ innings, but two were two-run homers and he departed with it tied, 4-4. Overall, the left-hander surrendered four earned runs and struck out nine.
It marked the first time since July 19 in Miami that Manaea allowed more than three earned runs.
Vientos smashed a two-run homer in the first inning that gave the Mets a 2-0 lead.
Francisco Lindor singled leading off for the Mets — extending his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games (he’s reached base in 34 in a row) — before Vientos’ line drive cleared the left-field fence.
Manaea surrendered a two-run blast to Elly De La Cruz in the fourth that tied it, 2-2.
Jonathan India walked leading off and Manaea threw two straight sinkers to De La Cruz, the second of which disappeared behind the fence in left-center.
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It was the fifth homer allowed by Manaea in his last four starts.
The Mets wasted an opportunity in the fifth: Jeff McNeil was plunked by a pitch while showing bunt and Francisco Alvarez drew a one-out walk before Lindor grounded into an inning-ending double play.
McNeil was pulled from the game before his next at-bat because of swelling in his right wrist and will receive further evaluation Saturday.
The Mets went ahead in the sixth on consecutive RBI singles by Jose Iglesias and J.D. Martinez.
Pete Alonso’s two-out double on a ball that dropped from Jake Fraley’s glove as he attempted to complete a sliding catch in right field started the rally. Iglesias entered as a pinch-hitter for Jesse Winker, prompting Reds manager David Bell to remove lefty David Williamson and insert right-hander Buck Farmer.
Iglesias delivered an RBI single and Martinez (in his first game back since paternity leave) followed with another, extending the lead to 4-2.
Manaea walked Spencer Steer in the seventh before surrendering his second two-run homer of the night. TJ Friedl went deep with two outs in the inning to tie it 4-4 and end the left-hander’s night.
For a stretch last month, the teams ahead of the Mets in the NL wild-card race seemed to win every day.
Now, it’s Mendoza’s crew causing similar angst for those same teams.
“This is going to go right down to the end,” Mendoza said. “But we don’t have to look too far ahead and we don’t have to worry about what other teams are doing. We just have to make sure to control the things we can and we’ll get there.”
