Mets Win a Long One, but It Only Goes Nine John G. Mabanglo/European Pressphoto Agency The Mets' Marlon Byrd, right, was greeted by his teammates Juan Lagares, center, and Eric Young Jr. after his grand slam against the Giants. SAN FRANCISCO - During the first game of this series on Monday night, the Mets and the San Francisco Giants battled for almost five and a half hours, keeping fans waiting for a resolution that seemed as if it would never come. On Tuesday night, Marlon Byrd settled things with a one immense swing in the eighth, blasting a game-deciding grand slam into the left-field seats to send fans at AT&T Park streaming into the aisles for an early exit. The Mets" 10-6 win still took 3 hours 23 minutes, but compared to the previous night's contest, it felt like it was over in a few seconds. "You don't always come through," Byrd said, "but it's just one of those things where, when you do, it just feels good." The victory also meant that the Mets would win a second straight series during their three-city road trip. "Right now, we're exactly where we want to be, the way we want to play," Byrd said as the Mets" record improved to 39-48. One night after they played 16 backbreaking innings, the Mets cobbled together an eighth-inning rally to break a 5-5 tie and ensure they would not play their 12th extra-inning game of the year. Omar Quintanilla and Juan Lagares each produced one-out singles and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch from Jeremy Affeldt. After Eric Young Jr. walked to load the bases, Daniel Murphy lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, giving the Mets a one-run lead. David Wright walked, ending Affeldt's night, before Byrd turned a close game into a blowout. Jake Dunning hung a slider to Byrd, then watched it fly into the stands for a grand slam that made the score 10-5. It was Byrd's 14th home run of the year. "Marlon's been unbelievable; he really has," Manager Terry Collins said. He's dangerous. He got a hanging slider, and he made a difference. Dillon Gee started for the Mets and labored throughout, failing to produce a clean inning. But the bullpen was taxed after the 16-inning game Monday night, and Gee was expected to go deep into the game. He provided six and two-thirds shaky innings, allowing five runs, nine hits and five walks while striking out three Giants. It was his first time walking at least five batters since September 2011. "All the guys pitched last night, and they were probably tired," Gee said of the bullpen. I just wanted to try to get as deep as I could, but I wasn't able to get as deep as I wanted to. He faltered first during a two-run second inning. Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt knocked out back-to-back singles, putting runners on first and third. Belt took off to steal second, and catcher Anthony Recker's throw flew wide, letting Pence score and Belt get to third. One out later, Guillermo Quiroz rolled a ball to Murphy at second base. He seemed to have a straightforward opportunity to nab Belt at home, but his throw was off line, and the Giants eased to a 2-0 lead. Gee never quite lost control, but he never got his footing, either. He gave up runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings - on a groundout, an infield single and a sacrifice fly - before his night came to a close. After Scott Rice picked up an out in the seventh (enough to record the victory), Carlos Torres pitched the final two innings, allowing one run to the Giants in the ninth. The Mets" offense tagged Barry Zito, the Giants" starter, for five runs, scratching seven hits and four walks against him. Andrew Brown's two-run single to left field and Quintanilla's run-scoring hit to center got the Mets started in the fourth. Recker blasted a two-run homer to left field during the sixth, which gave the Mets a 5-3 lead at the time. But the Giants came back, and the game seemed dangerously close to heading to extra innings until Byrd's blast in the eighth.