Mets defeat Diamondbacks on Jose Iglesias' go-ahead single in ninth to finish stretch of games vs. playoff contenders
Francisco Lindor after hitting a solo home run that tied the score at 2 against the D-backs in the sixth inning on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. Credit: AP/Rick Scuteri
PHOENIX — In the moments that mattered most, against the type of team they would face in October, the Mets came through this time.
Jose Iglesias eked a go-ahead single up the middle in the ninth inning of a 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon, awarding the Mets a series victory to conclude this tough stretch of schedule.
In a 10-game proving ground against Baltimore, San Diego and Arizona — three clubs that hold playoff spots — the Mets went 6-4. But they were close to making it 8-2.
They moved back within three games of Atlanta for the last wild-card berth after Atlanta lost in Philadelphia, 5-4.
“I wouldn’t say I learned [anything about the team],” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I know we’re good. We’re up to the competition.”
Francisco Lindor, whose tying home run in the sixth inning ended an 11-pitch at-bat, said: “We can compete against anybody. I know at times we haven’t played our best against teams that are not in contention. But it seems like the teams that are competing, we play very well against them. That’s a good sign.”
And Edwin Diaz: “We are close. We are really close. We just gotta keep playing really good games like we’ve been.”
The last in a series of big-time contributions came from Diaz, who struck out a pair in a perfect bottom of the ninth. That represented a major rebound from his previous two outings, in which he gave up game-losing home runs both times.
He looked much different than he did a day before, working fast and throwing strikes in picking up his 15th save. Of his 18 pitches, 17 were fastballs and one was a slider. He said he was merely following the guidance of catcher Francisco Alvarez.
The difference, according to Diaz, was a mechanical fix that he and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner identified Wednesday night and hammered out Thursday morning.
“This team needs me,” Diaz said. “I gotta be ready every single day.”
His effort made Iglesias’ hit the winner. Jesse Winker doubled with one out against Justin Martinez, the hard-throwing closer for the D-backs (76-58). Iglesias snuck a grounder off the glove of shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to put the Mets back on top.
“When you put the ball in play, good things happen,” Iglesias said. “You can’t get too big against guys like that.”
David Peterson turned in another long, sharp start, holding the D-backs to two runs in seven innings — the third outing in a row he lasted at least that long. He lapsed once, briefly, in the bottom of the third, when he walked Perdomo with two outs. Randal Grichuk made it hurt with a two-run home run.
His ERA is 2.83.
Peterson scattered seven hits and two walks and helped his own cause by picking off a pair of runners at first base.
He also induced two double- play grounders, including one that ended an Arizona threat in the seventh. Jeff McNeil’s throwing error helped set up a first-and-third, one-out jam, but Kevin Newman rolled a grounder to third baseman Iglesias to bail out the Mets (70-64).
“[Catcher Luis] Torrens came out and said we’re going to get a double play right here. How do you want to do it?” Peterson said of the mound meeting before that key plate appearance. “So we [discussed] the plan and everybody was on the same page. That’s what we were trying to do, get the double play.
“We had gotten him on the ground before with a sinker, so we went sinker/changeup in that at-bat and were able to get him to roll over a sinker.”
Arizona righthander Ryne Nelson held the Mets to two runs across 6 1⁄3 innings, but both tallies came in big — and loud — moments.
Pete Alonso smacked a home run an estimated 439 feet to centerfield in the second inning. It was the 29th of his season and 221st of his career, breaking a tie with Mike Piazza for third on the Mets’ all-time list.
Lindor extended his on-base streak to 27 games, the longest active run in the majors.
“After I kept fouling pitches off, I told myself, come on, you’re one more pitch closer, you’re one more pitch closer. It’s where you want to be,” he said. “That was pure emotion I put out there. The whole entire time running the bases, I’m screaming to myself: Hell yeah, hell yeah.”
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.
