Monday afternoon outing against the Braves didn’t quite start as planned Edwin Diaz.
After Dishes installation man Phil Maton hit a batter and gave up a bloop single to bring the tying run to the plate with just one out in the bottom of the eighth, Carlos Mendoza decided to turn to his closer for a five-out save.
Diaz easily struck out the first and he appeared to be out of the inning when Pete Alonso made a superb diving stop on a Jared Kelenic grounder, but the right-hander forgot to cover first base, bringing in a run and keeping the rally alive.
Then after Michael Harris walked four lengths to reload the bases, Ozzie Albies Diaz’s error hurt, as he crushed a bases-clearing double to put the Braves right back in front heading into the ninth.
But until their final three outs, the Mets offense sustained their closer, as shortstop Francisco Lindor put together another MVP moment, crushing a two-run home run to give them the lead back.
Mendoza was about to hand things over to Ryne Stanek for the bottom of the ninth, but after Lindor’s huge homer, Diaz addressed the skipper and pleaded for his return to the game.
“It was tough, I got to eighth grade and they fought,” he said. “But after seeing the Lindor circuit, I told Mendy that I would go back no matter what. I told him I don’t care what you say, I’m going back and getting this victory for the team. He fought me a little, but I told him I understood, that’s exactly how I told him.
And Diaz certainly did, as he finally got the former Met Travis d’Arnaud only to lose to Lindor, securing the thrilling come-from-behind victory and securing the Mets’ playoff spot.
“Being able to come out last to get us into the playoffs was great,” he said. “In May we were playing maybe the worst baseball in the league and we came back from that. We fought all season and it paid off, we made the playoffs and now we just have to go out and compete and see if we can make the World Series.
