After Edwin Diaz blows another save, Mets spiral in blowout 10-inning loss to Giants
Edwin Diaz #39 of the Mets reacts after surrendering the game tying run during the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field on Saturday, May 25, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
This time, as Edwin Diaz melted down, the rest of the Mets joined him.
Their 7-2 loss in 10 innings to the Giants featured failures big and small sprinkled throughout a gorgeous, demoralizing Saturday afternoon at Citi Field, with a blown save spiraling into a straight-up blowout.
The grandest of those breakdowns — the reason the game needed the extra frame — belonged to Diaz, whose reprieve from save situations ended after just a week. Inserted to protect a one-run lead, Diaz allowed singles to two of his first three batters (with a stolen base mixed in) for his third blown save in a row and fourth in five tries.
The Mets have lost five games in a row, seven of eight and 12 of 15. They are 21-30.
“This is not just him,” Francisco Lindor said, accurately. “The game is not lost in the last inning. Every day, we’re losing games in one inning. We gotta look at the whole entire game.”
Let’s look at the whole game.
The shortcomings began in the first, when Lindor led off with a double but Pete Alonso (groundout), Brandon Nimmo (strikeout) and J.D. Martinez (strikeout) advanced him only to third base.
In the ninth, the Mets had a primo chance at a walk-off win with the tying run in scoring position for the top of their lineup. Lindor and Alonso went down on a combined three pitches.
The Mets went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Sean Reid-Foley gave up five runs (all unearned) in the top of the 10th, a bad inning made worse by Alonso’s throwing error that Lindor couldn’t corral on a potential double play. Mike Yastrzemski added a three-run triple off Josh Walker.
“When you look back at all the games during the stretch, it’s like, well, sometimes . . . we played good baseball,” Alonso said. “Most of the time, the team on the other side has played just a little bit better than us. That’s why we’re at where we’re at.”
Lindor said: “We’re going to get through this. It’s just a matter of when . . . It’s not about team meetings. It’s not about rah-rah. It’s about getting it done.”
Luis Severino took a no-hitter into the sixth, finishing seven innings with one run (two hits). Starling Marte homered off Jordan Hicks (five innings, one run) and Brett Baty put the Mets back on top in the seventh with a home run — a no-doubter into the upper deck in rightfield.
That helped set the stage for Diaz, who had been temporarily displaced from his ninth-inning role because of his struggles. But with apparently no better options, manager Carlos Mendoza took a chance against San Francisco (27-26) and the unimposing middle of its lineup.
Diaz had pitched in only one game the previous six days, a scoreless seventh inning Friday night.
“He’s our closer,” Mendoza said. “In order for us to win games and get where we want to get, he’s gotta pitch. I felt like that was the right spot for him.”
Will Mendoza still put him in for saves moving forward?
“He’s gotta continue to pitch,” he said. “My job is to continue to find lanes for him.”
Wilmer Flores jumped on a first-pitch fastball, grounding it through the left side for a single. His pinch runner, Ryan McKenna, stole second and LaMonte Wade Jr. lined a tying single to right.
Yes, it happened again.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m good,” Diaz said of his mindset. “I executed really good pitches, that’s what I want to do. The result didn’t go my way, but how I perform on the mound, how I look, how I feel was way better than last week.”
Each of the Mets’ past three wins have come in spots in which they were trying to avoid getting swept. They will try to do that again Sunday.
“We’re a bunch of high-character individuals here,” Alonso said. “All of us every day have a great attitude and are focused on winning. The hardest part is between the lines. We just need to do a better job. We need to play clean baseball. And we haven’t necessarily done that.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
