ANAHEIM, Calif. — In the shadow of Disneyland, the Mets got a little Sleepy and Dopey before departing Happy.
Anthony Recker’s home run leading off the 13th inning injected life into this sagging bunch, sending the Mets to a 7-6 victory over the Angels.
A night after the Mets lost in the 11th inning, when Jeurys Familia drilled Hank Conger with the bases loaded to score the winning run, John Lannan finished the deal with a second inning of scoreless relief.
“It was a fun game — long game — I’m just glad we got the win,” said Recker, who finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
But from the Mets’ perspective, the game should have been over 90 minutes earlier. Raul Ibanez spoiled what should have been a tidy Mets victory by hitting a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth against Jose Valverde to tie the game at 6-6.
Life was good for the Mets after Valverde retired Howie Kendrick for the second out of the ninth. But David Freese singled and Erick Aybar walked, bringing Ibanez to the plate. The veteran outfielder launched a missile into the right-field seats.
It wasn’t Valverde’s first misstep with Ibanez. In the ninth inning of the ALCS opener in 2012, Ibanez tied the game for the Yankees with a two-run blast in the ninth against Valverde, then pitching for the Tigers.
“I pick it up, throw it in the garbage and get ready for tomorrow,” Valverde said of Saturday’s performance.
In the 13th, Recker came to the rescue with a shot that cleared the left-field fence against Matt Shoemaker.
Gonzalez Germen pitched 1¹/₃ innings of scoreless relief ahead of Lannan.
“I’m just glad I could help out a little bit,” said Lannan, who picked up his first win as a Met. “These first couple of weeks have been a little bit of a struggle, personally, but I just put those aside.”
Jon Niese allowed six hits and one walk before Carlos Torres worked a scoreless eighth and Valverde flushed the ninth. The blown save was Valverde’s first in three chances since assuming the closing duties.
“You’ve just got to get over it,” manager Terry Collins said. “That’s part of our game, you have got to get over it. It’s a wild sport. There are no easy nights, for sure.”
Omar Quintanilla’s two-run single in the ninth against Kevin Jepsen gave the Mets a cushion on a night they sleep-walked into the late innings.
After the Mets scored three runs in the seventh against Jered Weaver to take a 4-3 lead, Niese got a gift in the bottom of the inning, when Ibanez hit a line drive to Ike Davis that started an easy double play.
In the eighth, Carlos Torres allowed a single to pinch-hitter J.B. Shuck, but then got Mike Trout to hit into an inning-ending double play.
In the days leading into Niese’s start, Zack Wheeler, Jenrry Mejia and Dillon Gee had failed to pitch at least six innings, putting a strain on the bullpen even without factoring in Friday’s 11-inning marathon.
Weaver took a one-hitter into the seventh, but the Mets had a rally in them. Lucas Duda’s bloop single to left after Curtis Granderson walked put runners on the corners. Juan Lagares followed with an RBI single that sliced the Angels’ lead to 3-2. Recker followed with a two-run single against Fernando Salas that gave the Mets their first lead of the game.
Niese appeared on the brink of disaster in the sixth, when Trout doubled following Collin Cowgill’s leadoff homer. But Niese recovered and retired Albert Pujols, Kendrick and Freese in succession.
Cowgill, who began last season with the Mets as the starting center fielder — and hit a grand slam on Opening Day — cleared the left-field fence to give the Angels a 3-1 lead.
Niese was rolling in the fifth, until Chris Iannetta hit a solo homer to give the Angels a 2-1 lead. The homer was the first of the season allowed by Niese.
Duda’s solo homer in the second had tied the game at 1-1. The blast was Duda’s third of the season and gave him five RBIs. Duda started as the DH, with Davis at first base.
With the Mets scheduled to face the left-hander Wilson in Sunday’s series finale, Collins has said he likely will go with Josh Satin and Duda, in the first base and DH roles.
David Wright was nailed attempting to steal third base in the fourth, hindering a potential rally. Wright, who had walked — and gone to second on Granderson’s walk — broke for third and was nailed by Iannetta for the second out.
Pujols’ RBI single in the first accounted for the game’s initial run. Cowgill singled leading off against Niese and scored on Pujols’ single.