Winker Stays Hot, Baty Stacks Base Hits, and Hagenman Shines in Debut Despite Loss
The Mets fell 4–3 to the Twins in 10 innings Wednesday afternoon at Target Field, wrapping a frigid road series with a loss—but not without a fight.
After clawing back from a 3–0 deficit with a furious eighth-inning rally, New York had the go-ahead run in scoring position in extras before the bats fizzled, and Minnesota walked it off on a Ty France single.
Brazobán Opened, Hagenman Makes Debut
With scheduled starter Griffin Canning scratched from today due to illness, the Mets went bullpen-by-committee—and it opened with a bang. Huascar Brazobán fired a clean first inning in an opener role, handing things off to Justin Hagenman, who made his MLB debut and delivered exactly what the Mets needed.
The final line for Justin Hagenman in his MLB debut pic.twitter.com/8MHCYBbTXJ
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 16, 2025
The 27-year-old righty gave them 3.1 innings of one-run ball, scattering three hits and striking out four. He showed poise and tempo on the mound, keeping the Mets within striking distance and earning MVP of the day honors in the process.
Buttó Battles Through Bumps, But Blown Call Adds Fuel to Twins’ Rally
José Buttó entered the game in the fifth inning. Former Met and crop-top aficionado Harrison Bader punched a single through the drawn-in infield for a 1–0 Twins lead.
Byron Buxton then added another RBI later in the frame, and an absolutely egregious blown call at first base with two outs in the sixth led to a third run scoring while Butto had his back turned.
Safe?!?
Better Vision. Better Calls.
Yes, we are literally offering all MLB umps free LASIK. pic.twitter.com/HeLZuqrTnh
— LASIK.com (@LASIKdotcom) April 16, 2025
If you were watching this game, you could see he was out by a mile, and it ended up being game-defining nonsense.
Never Say Die
The Mets had their first real shot in the fifth, loading the bases with one out—but Juan Soto grounded into a bang-bang unassisted double play to kill the momentum.
I…would have challenged this? pic.twitter.com/88UYzTuWVM
— The Mets Newsletter (@metsnewsletter) April 16, 2025
Jesse Winker was thrown out at home earlier that inning (questionable, honestly) on an aggressive (and also questionable) send by the third base coach.
But these Mets never say die.
Electric Eighth Thanks to Lindor, Alonso, Winker, and Acuña
Down 3–0 in the top of the eighth, Francisco Lindor led off with a single, Pete Alonso crushed an RBI double down the line, and Jesse Winker—who’s been on a heater—laced a double to deep right to score Alonso.
Pete Alonso RBI double
Jesse Winker RBI double
Luisangel Acuña RBI singleThe @Mets tie it up in the 8th! pic.twitter.com/LswLZpNyuv
— MLB (@MLB) April 16, 2025
Luisangel Acuña tied things with a two-out RBI single off Willi Castro’s glove, knotting the game at three.
“Contractually Obligated Leadoff Walk” -@MetsBooth
Edwin Díaz walked the leadoff man in the ninth but rebounded by striking out Edouard Julien and Buxton to force extras.
The Mets had a prime opportunity in the tenth with two on and no outs, but a 100 mph laser-grounder from Winker turned into a rally-killing 4-6-3 double play, and Brandon Nimmo popped up foul to end the frame.
On to the Next
Reed Garrett took over in the bottom half, and France’s leadoff single to center ended it.
Notable performances came from Winker, who stayed scorching with a double and an RBI double, and Brett Baty, who roped two hard singles—including a line drive to left that stood out in a day full of weak contact.
Brett Baty is 2-3 today with 2 line drive singles & 0 ground balls
He’s made multiple great plays including throwing a runner out at home
Acuna came through in the clutch after 3 strikeouts
The young cats are showing out today!#LGM pic.twitter.com/R8AO7Kktgp
— OC (@OCBaseball814) April 16, 2025
Canning is expected to return to the mound tomorrow as the Mets head home. A tip of the cap to Hagenman, who gave New York a shot on a day the rotation shuffled. The bats woke up late, and the bullpen nearly pulled it off. Despite the loss, this team’s got an incredible fight.
