ARLINGTON, Texas _ The Mets finally got one to bounce their way.
An error by Texas in the ninth inning plated the go-ahead run and the Mets escaped with a 4-3 win over Texas on Wednesday night at Globe Life Park. Jose Reyes hit a chopper that Elvis Andrus failed to corral, and it allowed Matt Reynolds to score.
Zack Wheeler produced a stellar start and Jay Bruce homered twice off Yu Darvish before Jerry Blevins wasted the lead, but the Mets (25-32) rebounded for a series split.
Not much has gone right for the Mets' this season, but, in a turn of events, they had a play go their way in the ninth. With runners on first and second with two outs, Reyes hit a ball up the middle off Matt Bush that Rougned Odor fielded in the outfield.
Odor then bounced his throw to Andrus, and he could not come up with the ball. As he dropped the ball, Reynolds _ who was pinch running for Lucas Duda _ scored from second. The Rangers challenged the play but the ruling was confirmed upon video replay.
Addison Reed pitched a perfect ninth to record the save, but earlier in the game the volatile Mets' bullpen once again faltered.
The Mets were just four outs from a win when Blevins, their most reliable reliever, had a rare hiccup. The lefty entered the game having not allowed a run in 28 of his 30 outings.
Protecting a 3-1 lead, Blevins easily retired the first two batters before allowing a rare hit to a lefty when Nomar Mazara singled up the middle. Blevins then relinquished the two-run edge by allowing a two-run homer to left to backup catcher Robinson Chirinos.
Blevins watched from his knee as Chirinos' blast just cleared the wall.
The Mets were leading 3-1 entering the eighth due to strong nights by Bruce and Wheeler, who did enough to have Yu Darvish in position to take a loss.
While Darvish gave the rest of the Mets' hitter fits, Bruce almost single handedly carried the offense against Texas' ace, and notched two of the Mets' three hits against Darvish.
The first nine batters were retired in order before Darvish hit Michael Conforto with a bouncing pitch to give the Mets their first base runner in the fourth inning, and two batters later Bruce hit a two-run homer to right-center for a 2-1 lead.
The hit was originally ruled a triple since the ball bounced back onto the field, but video replay showed the ball cleared the wall before bouncing back into the outfield.
Three innings later, Bruce recorded his 25th career multihomer game when he muscled an 90-mph cutter off the outside corner over the left-field wall for a 3-1 lead.
The Mets needed Bruce's heroics since they were otherwise dominated by Darvish, who used his assortment of off-speed pitches to keep the hitters off balance. Most of the hitters did not look comfortable in the box against him during his 7 1/3 innings.
Darvish was not the best pitcher on this night, though, thanks to Wheeler's fantastic outing in which he continuously worked his way out of jams. His biggest Houdini moment came in the first inning, and it proved to be a pivotal moment in the game.
The Rangers they loaded the bases with no outs that inning, but Wheeler allowed just one run. He induced a fielder's choice from Nomar Mazara that gave Texas a 1-0 lead before getting an inning-ending double-play grounder from Robinson Chirinos.
Texas threatened again in the third by putting the first two runners on, but Wheeler retired the next three hitters in order to strand another pair. He stranded a one-out double in the fourth by inducing a pop out and then fanning slugger Joey Gallo.
As Wheeler tried to guide the Mets to the eighth inning with a two-run lead, he again found himself in a bind as Texas brought the go-ahead run to the plate in a 3-1 game. On his 108th and final pitch, Wheeler retired Delino DeShields to keep the Mets head.
He held the Rangers 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Though Texas forced Wheeler into some tight spots, he managed to produce an economic outing which has been an issue for him during his career.
The Rangers tried to attack early in the count but Wheeler turned those hacks into outs, and it helped him complete seven innings for second time in 11 starts this year. The right-hander has now produced a quality start in five of his last six outings.
