Carlos Mendoza was left with a near-impossible decision on Monday afternoon with his Mets’ postseason hopes hanging in the balance.
His closer, Edwin Diaz, had just blown a three-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves but was bailed out by the brilliance of Francisco Lindor, who belted a two-run home run in the top of the ninth to put the Mets back on top 8-7.
“As soon as Lindor hit that ball, I turned around and gave [Diaz] a look,” Mendoza said. “We made eye contact [catcher Francisco Alvarez] was right there.”
Ryne Stanek was warming up in the bullpen and ready for the ninth inning but Diaz, who threw nearly 30 pitches the day before and another 21 in that eighth inning, pleaded with his manager to stay in.
“Trust me,” Diaz said. “I got this s—t.”
As Mendoza has done all season, he put his trust in his players and gave Diaz the green light to go back out there, even though it was tested when the closer allowed a one-out single to Eli White.
He went back out to the mound to check in, but remained steadfast in his faith.
“When he came to the mound, I was like stay calm, don’t take me out,” Diaz said. “…After Sunday, I was feeling a little bit tired but I have to fight. This team has given me so much… I want to be the guy. I want to fight for this team, for these guys.”
Diaz proceeded to strike out Ramon Laureano and get Travis d’Arnaud to ground out to clinch a postseason spot for the Mets — just the first of a few perfectly called decisions by the rookie manager to further suggest that he is ready for the big stages that await him.
Prior to Game 1 of their NL Wild Card Series tilt against the Milwaukee Brewers, he opted to DH Jesse Winker, who had gone 3-for-42 (.071) to end the regular season, instead of JD Martinez.
It paid off in the top of the second inning when, following a Mark Vientos single, Winker got the Mets on the board while halving their deficit with an RBI triple.
When starting pitcher Luis Severino ran into trouble, he stuck with him rather than exercising the short leash that has become customary for so many managers in the postseason. After allowing four runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings of work, Severino went on to retire the final eight batters he faced to give the Mets six gutsy innings.
Amidst a fifth-inning, two-out rally that already plated three runs to give New York a 6-4 lead, Mendoza pulled Winker for Martinez, who had recently and narrowly escaped an 0-for-36 slump. The veteran DH put the exclamation point on a five-run inning, poking a single through the right side of the infield to give the Mets a four-run cushion.
Difficult decisions in difficult moments, but Mendoza is starting to prove that he is more than well-equipped to navigate the postseason, which feels as though it is about to become commonplace for this organization.
