NEW YORK — Maybe this isn’t exactly what the New York Mets envisioned when they drafted Brett Baty in the first round of the 2019 draft, and his timeline certainly isn’t what the club envisioned. But Baty has finally blossomed from prospect to big leaguer.

The second baseman/third baseman broke a tie in the bottom of the seventh inning to help the Mets edge the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1, on Tuesday night at Citi Field. One night after walking off against the Bucs, Baty ensured a stress-free ending.

Since returning from Triple-A, Baty is hitting .353 with four home runs and seven RBI. While Baty insists that he feels the same, manager Carlos Mendoza sees a more confident player.

“A guy that knows he belongs in the big leagues,” Mendoza said. “He’s having fun. He’s preparing, he’s going out there, keeping it simple, getting good pitches to hit and just not overthinking it.”

The Mets (28-15) were cruising along for most of the game, holding a 1-0 lead against Pittsburgh going into the top of the sixth and were protecting it with relative ease. Right-hander Kodai Senga deftly worked out of jams and the defense gave him help.

The game came to a screeching halt in the top of the sixth.

Before Senga even threw a pitch, the umpires conferred for several moments about a pitch timer violation. The fans grew restless and began to boo, and Jesse Winker gave the officiating crew a thumbs down from the dugout. It started to rain and it came down harder as the inning went on.

Senga got the first two outs before he lost the strike zone. Alexander Canario singled and Jared Triolo hit one that went right through the netting in Mark Vientos‘s glove at third base for a double. Mendoza had already decided Triolo would be the last batter for Senga, regardless of whether he got him out or not. His pitch count was nearing 100 when Mendoza went to the mound to let him know.

“He wanted it right away,” Mendoza said. “Before I even asked him, he told me in very good English, ‘I’m good.’ So that, for me, is a sign of a guy that wants to continue to compete and who is feeling really good physically. When you’re looking at a guy who, for the first time [this season] is at 100 pitches and he says, ‘I’m good to go,’ I want to see that.”

Right-hander Reed Garrett then came in to face Nos. 8 and 9 hitters Ji Hwan Bae and Henry Davis with two outs. He walked both of them to load the bases and walk in a run. The damage was minimal, but the game was tied.

Right-hander Mitch Keller gave the Mets almost nothing to work with after a Brandon Nimmo drove in Juan Soto in the first inning. The Mets had only three baserunners through the middle innings and went down in order after giving up the tying run in the bottom of the sixth.

But with two outs, Baty took a 1-1 changeup from Keller and took it the other way into left field for his fifth homer of the season.

Keller (1-5) was great, allowing only two earned runs on five hits, walking one and striking out eight over seven innings. But the resilient Mets got the big hit when it mattered the most.

Senga was charged with one earned run on six hits, walking two and striking out seven. He had a runner on third in the second inning, and runners on second and third in the third and fourth. In the third, he had two on with one out, then got a strikeout and a ground-ball to end the inning. In the fourth, he had two on with none out and struck out the next three.

“Today was very impressive,” Mendoza said. “That forkball was pretty unbelievable. I thought the fastball had life, it was up to 97-98 and when he’s got that and he’s throwing it for strikes, then he makes that forkball a tough pitch to lay off.”

Senga threw more forkballs than he ever has in a start, using them mostly for swings and misses with runners on base.

“It did feel a little bit better today compared to previous games,” Senga said through a team translator. “I think that played a big part in being able to make it a winnable game.”

Max Kranick (3-1), who was drafted by Pittsburgh and came up in the organization, gave the Mets a scoreless inning in relief, retiring the Pirates (14-29) a scoreless seventh. Ryne Stanek held the lead in the eighth for Edwin Diaz, who pitched around two baserunners to convert the save (nine).

The Mets’ 28 wins are tied for the most in the league, and the team became the sixth in club history to win 28 of their first 43 games. All five starting pitchers have a sub 3.15 ERA so far, there isn’t a single hole in the lineup, and their young players are playing like established veterans.

“Every player is different,” Mendoza said. “For Baty, I’m just glad that he’s finally settling in and getting comfortable at this level.”

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