ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It took less than two innings for the Mets to begin to like the quirks of Tropicana Field.
Brett Baty smacked a second-inning pitch against the Rays that, for all intents and purposes, disappeared until it reappeared in the right-field seats for a three-run home run.
With two outs and two on, Baty turned on a middle-of-the-plate sinker from starter Aaron Civale, and just about everyone in the park believed it would be a flyout.
Tampa Bay’s Harold Ramirez camped in fairly deep right field and awaited a ball that he couldn’t find.
Ramirez threw out his arms in confusion, the ball lost somewhere in the catwalk-filled dome — before it appeared far behind him for what was estimated to be a 378-foot homer.
Before the start of this series against the Rays, the Mets had not played at the notorious, AL East ballpark since 2021.
