So often throughout his career in Queens, the Mets turned to José Buttó to pitch an important inning or to work out of a jam.
But in a moment of MLB surrealism, Buttó took the mound against the Mets, not for them, during a crucial moment Friday night at Citi Field.
Traded to the Giants just two days earlier, Buttó entered in the eighth inning with runners at the corners, one out and San Francisco leading by a run.
Pete Alonso greeted his former teammate with a game-tying sacrifice fly, denying Buttó the chance to pull off an escape act.
But it was another former Met who delivered the knockout punch.
Dominic Smith’s go-ahead RBI single against closer Edwin Diaz in the 10th proved to be the difference in the Mets’ 4-3 loss.
Smith entered as a pinch-hitter with automatic runner Willy Adames at third base, one out and the game tied, 3-3. With the infield in, Smith lined a high, 98-mph fastball back up the middle for the game-winning hit.
Giants reliever Randy Rodriguez, who was an All-Star this season, then hurled a scoreless bottom of the 10th, striking out Ronny Mauricio with the bases loaded to end the game.
It was the fourth straight loss for the Mets, who were swept this week in San Diego.
Buttó was traded to the Giants on Wednesday in the deal that sent fellow right-handed reliever Tyler Rogers to the Mets.
That trade was part of a midseason bullpen overhaul in which the Mets also acquired right-hander Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals and left-hander Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles.
In his Mets debut, Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth inning on Friday, working around two hits to strike out three.
The Mets trailed, 3-0, going into the bottom of the seventh, having been dominated to that point by Giants ace Robbie Ray. Ray outdueled Mets starter David Peterson, who held the Giants to two runs over six innings and struck out four.
But Alonso led off the seventh with a 414-foot solo home run against Ray, cutting the Mets’ deficit to 3-1.
That was the only run the Mets managed against Ray, who struck out six over seven innings.
But the Giants’ bullpen weakened this week, with San Francisco dealing Rogers to the Mets and closer Camilo Doval to the Yankees.
Without that high-leverage duo, the Giants turned to former Mets left-hander Joey Lucchesi in the eighth.
Lucchesi issued a walk and two hits, including an RBI single by Juan Soto that caromed off of the reliever’s foot and into center field.
That set up the showdown between Alonso and Buttó, who signed with the Mets as an international free agent in 2017 and made his MLB debut with them in 2022.
Friday also marked the Mets debut of center fielder Cedric Mullins, whom the Mets acquired Thursday in a trade with Baltimore.
Mullins did not start, as travel issues delayed his arrival at Citi Field until a few hours before the game, but he entered in the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter and popped out.
With the loss, the Mets fell into second place in the National League East and are a half-game behind the Philadelphia Phillies.
The three-game series against the Giants continues Saturday afternoon, with Kodai Senga (7-3, 2.00 ERA) set to start for the Mets and Kai-Wei Teng slated for his season debut with San Francisco.
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