On a night when the Mets could ill-afford to lose, the team’s bullpen was forced into action early after David Peterson recorded just four outs and left with a 5-1 deficit. The bullpen has been heavily criticized during the second half of the season, but they held the Cubs at bay and gave the Mets’ lineup a chance to fight back.
Huascar Brazobán was the first man out of the ‘pen on Tuesday, coming in after the Cubs had already scored three runs in the second inning and with men on second and third and one out. Brazobán struck out Seiya Suzuki, then got a first-pitch groundout from Carson Kelly to end the frame. Brazobán pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the third, then allowed a hit and an unearned run in the fourth inning before his night ended. All told, he recorded eight outs without allowing an earned run.
The Mets’ bats went to work in the fifth inning – Starling Marte led off with a single, then Francisco Alvarez reached on an error by Dansby Swanson to put men on second and third with just one out. Francisco Lindor brought home Marte with a groundout, then after a walk to Juan Soto, Pete Alonso banged a long single off the ivy-covered bricks in right field to score Alvarez. Brandon Nimmo greeted Chicago lefty Taylor Rogers with a three-run homer to tie the game at six.
Ryne Stanek was the next out of the Mets’ bullpen, and he worked around a one-out walk to Michael Busch for a scoreless frame, striking out Justin Turner on a blazing 99.9-mph fastball to end the inning. The Mets’ bats picked up where they left off in the previous inning – Jeff McNeil lined a two-out double, Alvarez took a four-pitch walk, then Lindor gave the Mets the lead with a single, driving in his third run of the night. The bullpen suffered its lone misstep of the night in the bottom of the inning, as with two outs, a pair of singles bracketing a walk by Tyler Rogers allowed the Cubs to tie the game.
The Cubs staged another two-out threat against Rogers after the Mets went quietly in the seventh inning. However, Brooks Raley struck out the only batter he faced – Pete Crow-Armstrong – to strand two runners and end the frame. In the top of the eighth inning, the Mets were close to wasting a lead-off single by Brett Baty, but the bats found more two-out magic. Alvarez blasted a 3-1 fastball from Caleb Thielbar over the center field fence to give the Mets a 9-7 lead.
Taking no chances, Carlos Mendoza called upon Edwin Díaz for a six-out save, and he did not disappoint. The Mets’ closer retired all six batters he faced – striking out five of them – to slam the door on a massive victory. Cubs batters swung 11 times against Díaz during his outing, whiffing eight times.
The Mets’ bullpen ranks just 14th in the majors with a 3.95 ERA, but from August 1-September 14, their 4.92 ERA was the fifth-worst in the majors. Over the seven games though, the bullpen has allowed just five earned runs over 32 2/3 innings (1.38 ERA). The Mets’ situational hitting was quite poor during their last two games against the Nationals, going a combined 4-for-21 with runners in scoring position and leaving 19 men on base. On Tuesday, however, the team went 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position, with seven of their runs coming with two outs.
It may not be sustainable to come from behind and use the bullpen for 7 2/3 innings to win every game, but the Mets showed more fight on Tuesday than they have in any other game this season. Their battle for the final NL Wild Card spot is far from over, but hopefully for them, Tuesday’s comeback sparks a hot streak.
