Guardians blow big lead but still beat Mets 7-6 in 10 innings

NEW YORK — The Guardians may have lost a lead, but they didn't lose the game Monday night winning the game anyway Monday night. Pete Alonso hit his 251st career homer to pull within one of Darryl Strawberry's franchise record, but Cleveland earned a 7-6, 10-inning win after squandering a five-run lead. Gabriel Arias' 440-foot, three-run homer to left-center ended a five-run sixth inning against Sean Manaea, who surrendered RBI singles to David Fry and Carlos Santana earlier in the inning. "They never quit," manager Stephen Vogt said of his players. "That was a hit. Our back end of the bullpen doesn't give up runs very often, but they didn't get down. They stayed up, and a little 'Guards Ball' chaos to get it going." Cleveland improved to 17-7 over its last 24 games. Alonso, starting at designated hitter for the 59th time in his career, hit a 388-foot blast to left-center in the bottom half against Slade Cecconi. The slugger has three homers in his last four games. Alonso had his fourth hit, an RBI single, in the eighth, before Mark Vientos delivered the game-tying sacrifice fly. Cade Smith (4-4) escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the ninth. Automatic runner Daniel Schneemann scored the tie-breaking run in the 10th, when third baseman Brett Baty threw the ball wide of second on David Fry's bunt against Ryan Helsley (3-2). Arias added a sacrifice fly. Nic Enright earned his first career save despite allowing Baty's two-out RBI single in the 10th. Manaea gave up five runs and struck out three in 5 2/3 innings. Cecconi surrendered three runs (two earned) with six strikeouts in six innings. "The way he threw the ball, he gave us a chance to win," Vogt said. "He was some kind of special tonight. "Obviously the third time through the order is real. It happened to Slade, too," Vogt said. "The guys got a look at (Manaea) and he made a couple mistakes. Gabby got a change-up up in the zone and hit it a long way. He's a really good pitcher. He was carving through us, mowing us down. I think we waited him out, got some good pitches to hit and had good at-bats." Key moment Smith ended the ninth by striking out Alonso and getting Jeff McNeil to line to second. Key stat Alonso entered Monday batting just .218 in 220 at-bats as a designated hitter. … Manaea threw 56 pitches in his first five scoreless innings but 29 pitches in the sixth. Up next The three-game interleague series continues Tuesday, when Mets RHP Clay Holmes (9-6, 3.45 ERA) opposes Guardians LHP Logan Allen (7-9, 4.06).