Edwin Díaz comes through with ultimate Houdini act!

The closer does the unthinkable to pull off the great escape in Cincy. Plus, notes on David Peterson and Francisco Alvarez's return...

Aaron Doster - IMAGN IMAGES

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets survived a ninth inning scare to beat the Reds 5-4 in a huge win in Cincinnati on Friday night (box)

• With the bases loaded in the ninth, RHP Edwin Díaz, broken cleat and all, combined with 2B Luisangel Acuña to make an unreal play at first to escape the jam and earn the save

• The bullpen did its job overall, with four relievers combining to pitch 3.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts

• LHP David Peterson just got through 5.1 innings after allowing four earned runs on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts

• 3B Mark Vientos led the way with a home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored as the offense did just enough

• The Mets plan for RHP Kodai Senga to make at least two starts for Triple-A Syracuse

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Roster Moves 📰

• RHP Kodai Senga optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

• RHP Wander Suero reported to the Major League team

• C Francisco Alvarez returned from rehab assignment and reinstated from the 10-Day Injured List

• C Hayden Senger optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

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Injury Updates 🏥

• CF Jose Siri (fractured tibia) went 1-for-3 with a double for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday

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Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

In a special bonus to Just Mets this week, Rich MacLeod was joined by former Met RHP Trevor May to talk about the pressure of playing in New York, what's going on with the Mets pitching staff & a full breakdown of Ryan Helsley's pitch tipping problem.

Listen now and subscribe!

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Playoff Race 🏁

The Phillies won big on Friday night meaning that they remain six games ahead of the Mets for the NL East lead with 21 games remaining.

The Mets continued to put the Reds to bed with a big win in Cincinnati on Friday night. The Reds are now six games back of the final Wild Card spot.

With their win and another Padres loss, the Mets have now moved into shared possession of the second Wild Card spot in the National League, although the Padres lead the season series over the Mets 3-0 with three to go later this month.

Elsewhere, the Giants won again and are now four games back of New York (five by virtue of the tiebreaker) and San Diego for the final two Wild Card berths, while the Diamondbacks won to move ahead of the Reds. The Mets magic number over the Giants is 17, and 16 over both the Diamondbacks and Reds with 21 games to go:

Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 96.5% chance of making the 2025 postseason.

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David Stearns Speaks 🗣️

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns briefly spoke to the media before Friday’s game. Here are the key takeaways:

• Stearns said that Kodai Senga was “amenable” to being sent down to Triple-A, and that the righty just “wants to do what’s right for the team” and be a part of a postseason run;

• RHP Brandon Sproat will be the third rookie starter to make his Mets debut in just a matter of weeks on Sunday, and Stearns is excited to watch the righty pitch and compete at the Major League level;

• C Francisco Alvarez returned to the Mets lineup on Friday despite being banged up, and Stearns was quick to give the catcher a tone of praise for being willing to play through the pain in order to help his team;

• Given the struggles of so many starters, Stearns didn’t rule out starters piggybacking each other and forming tandems, saying that the team are staying “open-minded”

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Who’s Hot? 🥵

• 3B Mark Vientos has now hit seven homers in his last 13 games. He’s hitting .327/.411/.816/.1.227 with 17 RBIs over that span

• RF Juan Soto is now hitting .476/.621/.1.190/.1.811 with one double, one triple, four homers, five stolen bases, seven walks, and 11 RBIs over his last six games

• LF Brandon Nimmo is hitting .346/.357/.462/.819 with three doubles and two RBIs over his last six games

• LHP Brooks Raley has allowed just one earned run and no walks while striking out six in his last five outings

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Who’s Cold? 🥶

• LHP David Peterson has a 6.69 ERA over his last seven starts - he’s allowed 27 earned runs over that span

• CF Cedric Mullins is hitting just .000/.167/.000/.167 with four strikeouts over his last five games

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Play of the Game ⭐️

There are no prizes for guessing today’s POTG.

The ninth inning proved to be a wild adventure for Edwin Díaz, who entered the game looking to protect a one-run lead.

That mission didn’t start off too well.

Díaz allowed a leadoff single and walked the next two batters to load the bases. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, the closer then suffered a wardrobe malfunction with his cleat breaking. Cue a change of footwear on the mound.

However, the new cleats obviously contained some kind of magical powers because, from that point on, Díaz recorded two massive outs, including an all-time clutch play to cover first base to get the final out and record his 26th save of the season.

Full credit to Luisangel Acuña for his role in that game-saving play.

Díaz’s heroics could well prove to be the emotional spark this team needs the rest of the way.

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• 2B Jett Williams (No. 2 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-2, R, RBI, BB

• LF José Azocar (Triple-A): 3-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B

• OF Omar De Los Santos (Double-A): 1-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR (GM 1 | GM 2)

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (76-65) at Reds (70-71)

Where: Great American Ball Park - Cincinnati, OH

Starters: RHP Jonah Tong (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. RHP Brady Singer (12-9, 4.08 ERA)

When: 6:40 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Notes from a wild and big-time win in Cincinnati ✍️

AP

The Mets got a huge stretch of games off to a great start by beating the Reds in the series opener on Friday night.

Keeping with the overall trend of the season, however, it was hardly easy or straightforward.

Therefore, I’m going to share a couple of quick thoughts I had after watching that ninth inning great escape…

Emotional Tone Setter?

Edwin Díaz’s ninth inning had it all - drama, the sense of dread that something bad was going to happen, a weird cleat malfunction, and then some magical heroics to ensure the night ended on a high note.

It was quite the ride for Díaz, who survived a broken cleat and an awful start to the ninth to secure what could be a big-time win for this team.

Last night’s victory could also act as an emotional spark plug.

After all, only a few weeks ago this team would have lost a game like that. The weird footwear situation would have led to an all-time bullpen meltdown.

Instead, Díaz showed remarkable poise to recover from a strange sequence of events to once again prove why he’s so important to this organization. He also slayed some personal demons by getting over to first to make the all-important final out - something he failed to do against the Braves late last season.

You could tell how much making that play meant to Díaz. He let out a primal roar before slamming one of his new - and perhaps magical - cleats down on first base. You could also see how much those ninth inning heroics meant to his teammates, too.

Moments like that have a habit of morphing into something much bigger, just like Grimace and the ‘OMG’ vibes from last season. Coming through a boatload of adversity in such an improbable way can almost become a rallying cry and a critical call to arms.

The Mets used certain magical moments from the 2024 season as a momentum starter, riding the wave to an unlikely deep postseason run.

Maybe, just maybe, Díaz’s ultimate Houdini act on Friday night can serve the same purpose for the 2025 Mets, who now have some breathing room in the Wild Card race.

Before we move on, we also saw just how valuable a weapon Luisangel Acuña could be in the postseason. The second baseman played a crucial role in the final out, covering for the diving Pete Alonso to make the play before firing a dart over to Díaz at first.

We’ve spoken before about Acuña’s range and elite athleticism, and his ability to just make things happen in the field could prove to be the marginal difference in a playoff series. If anyone else was playing second, the Mets would have lost on Friday night. Period.

He’s electric in the field and on the basepaths, and his elite skillset defensively is something every team would love to have in the later innings of games. Acuña has to be on the postseason roster.

AP

Another Worrying Starter Trend

If David Peterson continues on this current downwards trajectory, then I’m really not sure how high this team’s ceiling will be come October.

I mean, can the Mets really rely on three rookies to drag them through the postseason?

I’m not so sure.

I mean, I do believe at this point that Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat can all make a sizable impact in October. Especially McLean, given the poise and grit he’s shown on the mound.

However, if the Mets want to get anywhere close to the World Series, then they are going to need a veteran starter to really step up and lead the way.

At the moment, there is no world in which we can imagine Sean Manaea or Kodai Senga being that guy. Clay Holmes just doesn’t pitch deep enough into games to be that guy either.

So that leaves Peterson.

But, based on what we’ve seen recently, can we really be sure that Peterson has the stuff to be the leader of this pitching staff in October?

I mean, he allowed four more earned runs on Friday, meaning that he’s now allowed a total of 27 earned runs over his last seven starts. He owns an ugly 6.69 ERA over that span.

Now, Peterson was slightly better in his last outing, but that’s hardly saying much given how bad he has been recently. And, of course, all starters will hit a skid and have a few rough outings here and there.

With that said, the fact that Peterson has been this bad for a decent stretch this late into the season should be the real concern. We’re weeks away from the playoffs starting, and this isn’t what you want to see from your most reliable workhorse.

Unless Peterson can get the train back on the tracks, then I have my doubts about just how far this rotation will be able to carry this team in October.

Aaron Doster - IMAGN IMAGES

One More Thing

Let’s finish with a quick musing on the offense…

You really have to admire Francisco Alvarez. The catcher resembles a heavyweight who has just been pummeled for 10 rounds. He is as beaten up as you can be right now.

Alvarez was supposed to be done for the year but, despite getting a few more dings along the way, was back in the lineup on Friday. That’s toughness personified.

Now, how effective Alvarez will be the rest of the way remains to be seen. He’s probably not even at 50% health at this point, and any more hits to his hands could spell disaster.

But, if he can get hot at the plate again, then that could prove to be a game-changing X-Factor come playoff time.

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Around the League 🚩

• 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a home run and went 4-for-5 with three runs scored to help the Blue Jays beat the Yankees, 7-1

• DH Rafael Devers and SS Willy Adames launched back-to-back homers as the Giants eased past the Cardinals, 8-2

• LF Brandon Marsh, CF Harrison Bader, and RF Max Kepler all hit home runs to help the Phillies cruise to a 9-3 win over the Marlins