Alvarez Doubles Mets Past Rangers 6-3

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez went 2-for-5 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBI Tuesday night at Globe Life Field, including a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth, as the visiting Mets beat the AL West-leading Texas Rangers 6-3 in Andy Green's first game after signing a three-year contract to become New York's full-time manager. Sean Manaea struck out nine over six innings. Kodai Senga closed the ninth for his eighth save. Texas fell to 78-79 and into a tie with Houston atop the division with five games left.

Alvarez doubled to lead off the third and scored the game's first run, then punched the sixth-inning double off Nathan Eovaldi that flipped a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Luis Torrens added a sacrifice fly. Carson Benge also doubled twice, scored twice, and drove in a run as New York improved to 72-85.

Soft fantasy note only: Alvarez now has five RBI over his last three games and is hitting .234 with a .718 OPS and 42 RBI on the year. Ride the hot bat through the final week if you still have a catcher slot open. Do not invent a September MVP stamp from one Arlington night.

Mets fans got a clean win on a day the front office finally stopped calling Green the interim. Rangers fans watched the AL West race tighten the wrong way after Houston blanked Seattle. Globe Life felt like a playoff problem for Texas and a rare road smile for a Mets club that has spent most of September looking up in the NL East.

Brandon Nimmo, facing his old club after the Marcus Semien swap, had two hits including a leadoff single in a two-run fourth. Semien went 0-for-5 in the return reception. None of that drowned out Alvarez's sixth-inning swing.

Green's first night as the full-time skipper did not need a speech. It needed a catcher who could rake in the middle innings and a starter who could miss bats. Manaea and Alvarez delivered both. The Mets still sit far back in the NL East, but a road win in Arlington against a division leader is the kind of September tape a club keeps when it is trying to finish the year with some pride.

Texas has five games left and no margin for soft nights at home. Houston already owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. Every Rangers loss now is a standings problem, not just a box-score problem, and Alvarez made sure Tuesday became one of those nights.

Box board

Mets 6, Rangers 3. Alvarez: 2B, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI. Manaea 6 IP, 9 K. Senga save No. 8.

Rangers 78-79, tied Houston for AL West. Five to play.

Fan closer

Alvarez just handed Green a win on night one. Texas just watched the West get tighter.