Cleveland Guardians vs New York Mets Box Score on May 21, 2023

Jeff McNeil hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning Sunday night as the New York Mets beat the visiting Cleveland Guardians 2-1 to sweep a split doubleheader.

The Mets have won five straight, including four in their last at-bat. The Guardians have lost five of six.

Starling Marte hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning of Sunday's first game to lift the Mets to a 5-4 win.

Solo homers by the Guardians' Jose Ramirez (first inning) and the Mets' Francisco Lindor (sixth inning) provided the lone runs between Cleveland ace Shane Bieber and New York ace Justin Verlander before the hosts mounted the winning rally against Bieber.

Francisco Alvarez led off the eighth with a single. One out later, pinch runner Marte went to third on a single by Lindor. Marte then raced home on McNeil's fly out to medium left.

Verlander (2-2), making his fourth start of the season after missing the first five weeks with a right shoulder injury, allowed the one run on three hits and walked none while striking out five.

Brooks Raley threw a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his first save of the season.

Bieber (3-3) threw an eight-inning complete game. He gave up the two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four.

Ramirez, whose two-run homer in the eighth inning of the first game gave the Guardians a brief lead, homered well into the second deck in right field with two outs in the first against Verlander.

The Mets put runners on against Bieber in each of the first four innings but left four runners on and hit into one double play. New York had runners on first and second with one out in the third before Bieber retired Lindor on a groundout to first and struck out McNeil.

Lindor tied the score with a leadoff homer in the sixth. McNeil then drew a walk but was thrown out trying to advance to second on Pete Alonso's fly out to the track in left.

--Field Level Media