Edwin Díaz walked two batters, then he walked the tightrope, with a big assist from Luisangel Acuña.
The All-Star closer entered a 5-4 game in the ninth inning Friday in Cincinnati and allowed a single and two walks to load the bases with nobody out. Noelvi Marte worked the count from 0-2 to 3-2 before Díaz struck him out on a slider out of the strike zone. With one out, he caught Elly De La Cruz looking with a 99 mph fastball down the middle.
Gavin Lux hit a hard ground ball in the hole between first and second. Acuña ranged to his left, stumbled as he fielded the ball, righted himself and made a perfect throw to Díaz covering at first to win the game. The Mets (76-65) lead the Reds by six games for the final Wild Card spot. The San Francisco Giants trail the Mets by 4 1/2 games with a game in progress.
New York scored three runs in the first inning. Mark Vientos drove in a run with an infield single on a roller down the third-base line. After a Juan Soto steal of third, Brandon Nimmo had to settle for a sacrifice fly when he was robbed of a three-run homer on a spectacular, leaping catch by center fielder TJ Friedl. Starling Marte followed with a two-out, RBI single.
While Vientos opened the scoring by hitting a ball that didn’t travel 90 feet and left the bat with a 55.3 mph exit velocity, he added to the lead in the third with a 427-foot homer to right center (exit velocity of 105.3 mph). Vientos has smacked nine homers in his last 18 games after hitting seven in his first 83.
The Mets added a run in the fourth to make it 5-1 on back-to-back, two-out doubles by Francisco Lindor and Soto. The Mets went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
The Reds (70-71) scored three runs in the fourth to get back in the game. Tyler Stephenson lined a two-run double into the left-field corner. Lindor’s relay throw beat Friedl home, but he scored with a head-first slide, getting his hand on the plate before Francisco Alvarez tagged him near the shoulder. Ke’Bryan Hayes drove in a run with a sacrifice fly when Nimmo made a diving catch in shallow left field.
Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
David Peterson (9-5) had a rough August (6.68 ERA in six starts) and his last outing was his worst of the season (eight earned runs in two innings). This performance was better (5 1/3 innings, four earned runs on seven hits, four strikeouts) but still left plenty of room for improvement. His last pitch was ball four to Spencer Steer, his only walk of the night. It put runners on first and second with one out and prompted Carlos Mendoza to bring in Ryne Stanek.
Stanek struck out Stephenson, but an Alvarez passed ball on strike three moved the runners to second and third. After walking Hayes to load the bases, he struck out Matt McLain to end the threat. Stanek hasn’t allowed a run in six-straight outings.
Brooks Raley pitched a perfect seventh with two strikeouts and Tyler Rogers threw a scoreless eighth. The bullpen combined to throw 3 2/3 scoreless frames with seven strikeouts.
Alvarez was 1-for-4 with a single and two strikeouts in his return from a UCL sprain on his right hand and a fractured pinky on his left hand. It was his first game since Aug. 17.
Stats of the Game
Nimmo (1-for-3) extended his hitting streak to 11 games, the longest current hitting streak in MLB. The steal was Soto’s 28th in 31 tries. His previous career high was 12.
Player of the Game
Vientos was 2-for-4 with his 16th homer and two RBIs. He raised his slash line to .245/.298/.441. It was .223/.280/.361 at the All-Star break. Shout out to the four relievers who each held a one-run lead.
On Deck
Jonah Tong (1-0, 1.80) will make his first career road start against RHP Brady Singer (12-9, 4.08 ERA). Singer threw eight shutout innings in his only career start vs. the Mets while pitching for the Kansas City Royals in 2023. The game will start at 6:40 p.m. ET and air on SNY.
