CHICAGO _ It took nearly four hours for the Mets offense to wake up, but better late than never, right?
In a tie game in the 11th against the White Sox, Jeff McNeil blasted a two-run home run and, seconds later, Michael Conforto launched a solo shot. The Mets, who were in danger of blowing another game, led by three runs and won, 5-2.
The Mets have won five in a row, their longest winning streak since they won nine straight from April 3-13 of 2018. They've taken six of their last seven games and are now four games under .500, though they remain in fourth place in the NL East.
The two homers also took Edwin Diaz off the hook.
With a one-run lead in the ninth inning, Diaz walked a man, hit one, threw two wild pitches and allowed the tying run, spoiling Noah Syndergaard's masterful start. It also wasted a heroic effort by Seth Lugo, who rolled a 5-4-3 double play to escape a bases-loaded jam and preserve a one-run lead in the eighth inning.
Diaz is the closer, but it may be fair to question why Mets manager Mickey Callaway did not leave in Lugo for the ninth. He only faced one batter in the eighth, and the Mets had on off day on Monday.
Diaz toed the rubber for the ninth, and it was immediately clear this could be another rough night. He walked leadoff man Ryan Goins. After striking out Eloy Jimenez, Diaz threw one wild pitch and drilled James McCann.
Following a mound visit, he tossed another wild pitch to put the tying run at third and the winning run at second. Tim Anderson then skied one to center, and Aaron Altherr's throw home landed a bit wide.
Tie game.
More frustration for the Mets. Diaz blew a fifth save in 28 opportunities.
Less than 24 hours before the trade deadline, Syndergaard stepped on the mound with his Mets future in question.
His name has been included in swirling trade rumors. At times, reports made it seem like the Mets could realistically complete a blockbuster trade and ship him somewhere else. No one appears to be sure exactly what New York's plan is, making it that much more difficult to predict what the organization will do with Thor.
Over a few hours, the flame-throwing righty made sure that, if Tuesday's start was his last in blue and orange, it would be memorable. He was at his best on a night the Mets needed it as their bats struggled.
Syndergaard took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and pitched into the eighth while allowing one run. He reached double-digit strikeouts for the 16th time in his career, and the second this season.
Syndergaard, who gave up five hits on Tuesday, probably deserved to shut out the White Sox over his 7 1/3 innings. Chicago's lone run, which scored in the sixth, came on a chopper that Todd Frazier couldn't handle and throw to first base for an out.
Otherwise, Syndergaard was flawless. He touched 99.6 mph in the eighth before Mets manager Mickey Callaway pulled him with runners on second and third and one out.
The issue: His offense gave him little support.
The Mets scored their two runs on two RBI groundouts _ one from Tomas Nido in the second, the other from Robinson Cano in the fifth. But they went 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position in regulation, an eye-popping number that loomed even larger when the White Sox tied the game off Diaz.
When Syndergaard exited, Callaway summoned Justin Wilson to face Jon Jay. With the tying run 90 feet away, Jay popped up a bunt. But no Met could get to it. It fell in, and while Pete Alonso scooped it up, he turned to third to look the runner back, which allowed Jay to reach first.
Temporarily, Lugo ensured this would not be another blown game.
That is, until Diaz entered. He couldn't command his pitches and failed to get the final three outs.
Robert Gsellman pitched clean innings in the 10th and 11th to keep the Mets alive.
With the trade deadline looming, the Mets could make more noise. After all, they made the first splash.
Will they deal Zack Wheeler? Or Syndergaard? What about Diaz?
Every question will be answered in a matter of hours.
New York on Sunday acquired Marcus Stroman from Toronto. If the Mets don't flip him _ they've shown no indication they will _ then the move signifies a push to contend now, to get back to .500 and eclipse that. With Stroman, the Mets possess arguably baseball's best rotation.
That is, if they still have No. 34 after Wednesday passes.
On Tuesday, that guy showed how valuable he still is and why the Mets would miss him if they dealt him.
His dominant outing was temporarily spoiled with a blown save, but the heroics of McNeil and Conforto saved the overall outcome.
