By JERRY BEACH
NEW YORK (AP) — JJ Bleday hit his first career grand slam, Shea Langeliers reached base five times for the second time in three games and the Oakland Athletics rallied to beat the New York Mets 7-6 on Thursday in the longest nine-inning game in the pitch clock era.
The game lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes and the teams combined to throw 425 pitches, the most in a nine-inning game this season.
Langeliers, who went 4 for 4 and was hit by pitch in Tuesday’s 9-4 win, was 3 for 4 with a walk and was hit by another pitch Thursday as the A’s took two of three from the Mets. Langeliers reached base 11 times in 15 plate appearances in the series for an on-base percentage of .733.
The Athletics, who trailed 5-0 in the third, won despite leaving a season-high 16 runners on base. Oakland left the bases loaded twice in the first three innings against Jose Quintana before Bleday’s slam in the fourth.
Tyler Nevin tied it with an RBI groundout in the sixth two batters before Langeliers scored on a single by Seth Brown.
Tyler Ferguson (1-1) tossed two scoreless innings and Shaun Alexander worked around two hits in the seventh before Mason Miller got the first six-out save of his career and 18th overall this season. Miller retired Francisco Alvarez on a liner to center to strand two in the ninth.
Mark Vientos homered twice and Luis Torrens hit a two-run single for the Mets, who have lost five of their last six. New York entered Thursday two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the race for the third NL wild-card spot
Mets pitchers walked a season-high 11 and they forced Oakland to throw 213 pitches. Jeff McNeil had an 11-pitch and a 10-pitch at-bat, while Francisco Lindor also had a 10-pitch at-bat.
Mitch Spence gave up five runs in 2 2/3 innings for the Athletics. Quintana allowed four runs in four innings.
MOTORIN’
Max Schuemann had an amusing moment in the fourth when he raced from first to home on Daz Cameron’s foul ball up the first base line while Alonso and Torrens waited for the ball to stop rolling.
DON’T LIVE THERE ANYMORE
The Athletics, who’ll play the next three seasons in Sacramento while waiting for a stadium to be built in Las Vegas, finished their Oakland tenure with a 121-174 as a visiting team in New York.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: OF Brandon Nimmo (stomach illness) didn’t play. … RHP Sean Reid-Foley (right shoulder) has been shut down for a few days after the ball didn’t feel right coming out of his hand during a rehab stint.
UP NEXT
Athletics: After a rare Friday off day for Oakland, RHP Osvaldo Bido (3-3, 3.92 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday’s opener of two-game interleague series against the San Francisco Giants, who had not announced a starter.
Mets: A nine-game homestand continues Friday when LHP Sean Manaea (8-6, 3.44 ERA) opens a three-game series against the Miami Marlins, who will counter with RHP Roddery Muñoz (2-6, 5.67 ERA).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
