Jesse Winker couldn’t have chosen a better time to hit his first home run in the orange and blue than on Wednesday.
The outfielder hit a walk-off solo hit into the left-field stands and paused in a moment of pure joy before reaching first base, clenching his fist and throwing his helmet and elbow pads in the air before enjoying the lap around the bases in the 4-3 victory over the Orioles.
“It was crazy. I was knocked out, 100 percent. I still can’t believe it. It’s unreal,” Winker told SNY’s Steve Gelbs on the field after the home run.
Winker was brought on as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning with the goal of simply “trying to get in the game for the guys.”
“(Francisco Lindor) came after me, and then… it went out. I don’t even know,” he said.
The outfielder joined the Mets in late July before the transfer deadline as part of a deal with the Nationals.
Winker entered the game with a .275 batting average and 14 hits in 51 at-bats since joining the Mets.
He was still riding high from his game-winning home run when he spoke to Gelbs on the field.
“This place is awesome. This place is unreal,” Winker said. “I love this shit. We need everybody, so we appreciate all of you. I’m glad to be on this side. Let’s go, Mets!”
This win marked the second time in the series against the Orioles that the Mets capitalized on late-game heroics to secure the victory they needed.
Winker wasn’t the only one celebrating the win in Queens on Wednesday afternoon.
The Mets celebrated the moment by putting the “We back up” meme on Citi Field’s video wall and placing a Photoshopped Mets cap over Idris Elba’s character from “The Wire.”
The win over the Orioles comes amid a difficult stretch of the season for the Mets, who next face the Padres.
This also came a day after the Orioles mocked the Mets during Tuesday night’s game on X, calling them “New York Mess” in a post after they made a series of brutal errors midway through the game.
