Three takeaways from the Mets-Diamondbacks series
Mets pitcher Edwin Díaz reacts after defeating the Diamondbacks during a game on Thursday in Phoenix. Credit: AP/Rick Scuteri
PHOENIX - Here are three takeaways from the Mets’ series victory over the Diamondbacks.
1. This is who Edwin Diaz is.
Diaz blew the game Wednesday (via Corbin Carroll’s go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning) and finished the game Thursday (via a perfect bottom of the ninth, recording the last out with Carroll two batters away).
Such is life for the Mets and their closer. Sometimes he is nasty. Sometimes he is bad. At this point, the Mets must view 2022 — when he was the best closer in baseball and cashed in with the biggest reliever contract ever — as the anomaly. Diaz way more often in his career, and with the Mets, has been a guy who alternates between dominant and frustrating.
On the year, Diaz has a 4.19 ERA, 15 saves and six blown saves. The Mets will not make the playoffs unless he has a great September. Thursday was a strong rebound.
“It says a lot [after] what happened the past two outings for him,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “That’s what makes him a really good pitcher.”
2. Sean Manaea is setting himself up for a nice payday.
Manaea’s two-year contract with the Mets includes a $13.5 million salary for 2025. But it also includes an opt-out clause. Safe to say at this point he will be exercising his right to head back to free agency.
In six starts over the past month, Manaea has a 2.87 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. He finished seven innings in four of those games and came an out away in a fifth start.
After his most recent outing, Manaea’s effectiveness inspired Brandon Nimmo to compare him — live on SNY — to Jacob deGrom. That’s a bit much, but the point is made: Manaea has been very good.
Manaea’s next two starts are scheduled to come against the White Sox (Sunday) and Reds, two teams that would seem to not impose much of a threat.
3. The Mets can’t afford to lose to the White Sox.
Not a single game. Yes, sweeping is hard. But these White Sox are one of the worst teams in the history of baseball, owning a 31-104 record and just four wins since the All-Star break.
Given the standings and a difficult schedule in the final month, the Mets need to get greedy here. No laboring over Labor Day Weekend.
“We can’t take it for granted,” Francisco Lindor said of the low level of competition. “We gotta go out there with the same intensity. It might be tougher to have the same intensity because the crowd might not be as involved as it is here.”
Jose Iglesias said: “We gotta treat it like San Diego and Arizona, with the right mindset and the right energy and we will be fine.”
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.
