The Dodgers bested the Cardinals on Sunday – one of the teams vying for a coveted NL Wild Card spot – but as the calendar shrinks, the Mets can’t rely on the kindness of strangers to stay relevant in the playoff picture.
I watched a portion of today’s game on the live feed of MLB.com while multitasking, darting in and out of grabbing groceries. Clinging to a 3-2 lead, it was concerning that New York couldn’t collect the insurance runs they desperately needed before Washington’s final at-bats.
When Edwin Diaz took the mound I was pulling into my driveway. By the time I entered the house, he had walked leadoff hitter, Alcides Escobar – which provoked a bad omen by the mere fact that he was on base. (See Game 1 of the Mets 2015 World Series against Kansas City).
After Diaz erased Juan Soto on a foul fly to left, he, unlike Jesus saving, gaveth away yet another free pass to Josh Bell. With two on and one out, Andrew Stevenson pinch-hit for relief pitcher, Kyle Finnegan, and just how it’s always scripted in a Diaz dire situation, Stevenson tied it up with a single off an 0-2 pitch.
As I place my final purchase into the fridge, Carter Kieboom put the kibosh on an extra-inning, by chopping a walk-off single to center. So instead of celebrating Pete Alonso‘s 30th home run of the season, which would’ve sealed the win, we lament another disastrous moment in Mets bullpen history.
When will the Mets get the memo that Diaz is not the go-to guy with the game on the line? A golden opportunity to edge a bit closer to the idle Braves was squandered and the cliché that every game counts is now glaring.
