J.D. Martinez and the Mets walk-off the Marlins to take the series

Plus, what are the Mets doing with Brett Baty? And, Díaz looked like Díaz, who was a crucial component to the Mets win on Thursday

Linda Surovich

Jun 14, 2024

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

The Mets walked-off the Marlins with a thrilling 3-2 victory (Box)
J.D. Martinez’s ninth inning heroics sealed the win. He went 2-for-4 with a walk-off two-run home run. It was the first walk-off home run of his career
This win was the sixth walk-off victory of the season for the Mets which leads the majors in that category - each walk-off this season has come in the final game of the series
Edwin Díaz pitched a clean inning and picked up the win in his first game back from the IL
Luis Severino got the start and his final line was 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR - Severino owns a 2.47 ERA through his first eight home starts
Francisco Lindor went 0-for-2 with a walk and stolen base that set up the ninth inning for Martinez
Brett Baty madę the start at second base for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday - it was his first professional start at that position

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Who’s Hot 🔥

Sean Reid-Foley did not allow any hits and struck out one in his one inning of work. His ERA is now 1.86 in 19.1 innings pitched this season
Luis Severino has allowed two earned runs in eight of his first 13 starts of the season. He has pitched into the sixth inning or later in each of his last five starts

Down on the Farm 🌾

SS Luisangel Acuña (No. 5 prospect, Triple-A): 4-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB
2B Brett Baty (Triple-A): 3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI
OF Alex Ramírez (No. 16 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, K

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL (PPD) | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (30-37) vs. Padres (37-35)

Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY

Starters: LHP Sean Manaea (3-3, 4.30 ERA) vs. RHP Matt Waldron (4-5, 3.76 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where To Watch: SNY

Edwin Díaz’s return was a promising first step for the team ✍️

It’s been no secret that the Mets bullpen has been a major sore spot for much of this season.

Adam Ottavino has an unsightly 5.55 ERA for the year and over his last seven games it has been far worse at 11.81. Reed Garrett - who looked so promising at the beginning of the year - has struggled as of late to the tune of a 10.57 ERA over his last eight appearances. This of course has been compounded by injuries to Drew Smith and Edwin Díaz and the starting pitching not going deep into games.

The team as a whole has 11 blown saves which is tied for third-most in the league.

But now, things are hopefully looking up for the bullpen.

Both Smith and Díaz returned, Dedniel Núñez has been a nice surprise so far, and Adrian Houser has been much better since moving to the bullpen as well.

However, if this team is going to go on a run, they don’t just need Díaz to return, they need Díaz to be Edwin Díaz.

After his last rehab start in Brooklyn, the closer was upbeat and said he felt good before coming off the IL. While that was a promising sign, he still needed to be tested at the major league level. So, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza threw him to the wolves right away, and while it wasn’t a save situation, it was still a good stress test for him.

The Mets needed him to keep the game close so they would have a chance in the bottom of the inning, and Díaz delivered with a clean inning. It was a badly needed step in the right direction for him both on the stat line and with his confidence and mental strength, but perhaps an even better sign was that he hit 100 mph on the radar gun.

He was rewarded for his good appearance with a win when J.D. Martinez walked it off in the bottom of the inning.

The Mets are doing better these days, having won six of their last eight games and are only three games out of a Wild Card. If they want to have a real shot at making the playoffs, they’re going to need games like they won on Thursday with some big moments from their starters, some tight pitching from the bullpen, and big-time clutch hitting from their money hitters. The bullpen certainly can’t be as volatile as it has been for the last six weeks, and Díaz will need to have more days like he had on Thursday and be the stabilizing force they have been missing, really since he went down with that horrible injury in March, 2023.

It was nice to see both he and the bullpen provide some semblance of normalcy on a day the club needed to pull out a win.

Around the League 🚩

The Red Sox knocked around Aaron Nola and the Phillies in their 9-3 win
The Royals staved off a late rally by the Yankees with a walk-off win to avoid being swept at home
The Braves defeated the Orioles 6-3 to end a five-game losing streak, their longest since 2017
The White Sox could look to move young ace Garrett Crochet at the Trade Deadline