NEW YORK _ The fans left at Citi Field began to rise when they saw Tomas Nido hammer a ball to right-center.
They erupted when it left the yard. The Mets beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4, in 13 innings as Nido hit his first career walk-off home run.
It ended a game that went four hours, 11 minutes.
New York's biggest missed opportunity in extra innings came in the 11th. Wilson Ramos walked _ and Steven Matz ran for him _ and Dominic Smith singled. Todd Frazier, who has been booed lately, blooped a single into left to load the bases with one out.
Aaron Altherr struck out, then Adeiny Hechavarria bounced out to the pitcher. The game continued.
Then there was J.D. Davis' loud out to end the 12th. He cracked a fly ball that looked like it could carry out of the yard, but it was caught at the wall and the game continued.
Overall, this long game didn't help the cause for a team that is already decimated with injuries. The Mets' next day off isn't until June 4.
The Mets are already without Seth Lugo, so they are trying to piece together their bullpen based on who is available each night. But Saturday tested their depth even more as they used six relievers.
Ramos played savior for the Mets through most of the first nine innings. He has not performed up to his capability at the plate thus far, but a go-ahead, two-run home run in the sixth inning became a highlight in what could be a breakthrough for Ramos.
Saturday marked the eighth multi-homer game of Ramos' career. The last was on June 25, 2018.
After the ball landed in the seats, Ramos had the Mets' only three hits of the day. He was also responsible for all four runs. His only missed opportunity came in the eighth, when he grounded into a 5-4-3 double play with two men on in a tie game.
The Mets have hoped for some pop out of Ramos' bat. He entered the game slashing .257/.333/.347, which would stand as one of the worst offensive years of his career if the season ended Saturday. He didn't launch his second home run until May 14 at Washington.
On Saturday, Ramos hit a solo homer in the second inning before lacing an RBI single in the fourth. The latter was aided by Tigers starter Ryan Carpenter, who committed back-to-back balks to move a runner from first to third.
He has heated up since. From May 14 through Friday, he had batted .345 with eight RBIs.
For the second day in a row, Mets pitching gave up multiple leads.
Mets manager Mickey Callaway went to Edwin Diaz with two outs in the eighth, something he said he would probably try. It didn't work as JaCoby Jones, who had four RBI in Friday's game, knocked in the game-tying run with a single.
In the sixth inning, Brandon Dixon came off the bench for Detroit and hammered a go-ahead, two-run home run off Tyler Bashlor. Before it, Bashlor held a 0.93 ERA over 9 2/3 innings and had become someone the Mets could rely upon in fairly big spots.
Jason Vargas, who has drawn criticism from Mets fans, pitched well. He lasted only five innings, but gave up just one earned run. His first start back from hamstring injury seems like a positive because he opened the game allowing two singles before the run, so it felt like it could have snowballed.
The Tigers had traffic on the bases, but nothing materialized. Vargas never unfolded or imploded. He entered with a 5.92 ERA over six previous starts, but Saturday's performance never became one to forget.
Vargas ended at 81 pitches, which is in the 80-85 range Callaway pegged for him.
The Mets play the Tigers once more before heading to the West Coast for a week. New York will play four against the Dodgers and three against the Diamondbacks.
The Mets will be without Jeff McNeil and Robinson Cano for much of the trip. Brandon Nimmo is also sidelined.
However, Callaway on Saturday said the club is optimistic that right fielder Michael Conforto will be activated before the trip.
