BRONX, NY — The Mets were nursing a one-run lead, 3-2, over the Yankees heading into the bottom of the ninth on Tuesday night in the Bronx, and closer Edwin Diaz was not available after pitching two of the previous three days including a 28-pitch effort on Monday night against the Miami Marlins.
To make the situation all the more dangerous, the Yankees were sending up the top of their order in Trent Grisham, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge.
Having already used Adam Ottavino, Dedniel Nunez, and Phil Maton, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza called upon southpaw Jake Diekman, who had been one of the bullpen’s most inconsistent arms this season, entering Tuesday night with a 5.28 ERA and 1.448 WHIP this season. Over his previous seven appearances, his ERA swelled to 14.54.
Luckily for the Mets, things were not played out on paper because the odds of either Soto or Judge at least tying the game felt incredibly high.
“I was just going to let it play out and see how we were going to get to Judge,” Mendoza said.
Grisham did not help to ease Mets anxieties when he cracked a deep fly ball that left the bat at 100.2 mph and traveled 400 feet to center field, which allowed just enough room for Harrison Bader to make the catch on the warning track.
Soto followed with a four-pitch walk to put the tying runner on base for Judge, whom the Mets avoided at all costs throughout the night by walking him four straight times. This time, Mendoza played his gut feeling and put his faith in Diekman.
“[The plan was to] not nibble around the zone but make quality pitches where I think the damage would be the least amount possible,” Diekman said.
Of the 14 pitches Judge faced in his first four at-bats on Tuesday night, 12 of them were balls. Perhaps that is why Diekman was able to pump a 95-mph fastball middle-middle, which Judge looked at to go down in the count 0-1.
An 88-mph changeup missed low and away, a second consecutive offspeed pitch was fouled off, and a fastball missed inside to even the count at 2-2.
Staying aggressive, Diekman went back to the heater and snuck a two-seamer on the inside corner to strike the feared slugger out looking.
“The last one was spotted perfectly,” Diekman admitted.
“It was huge,” Mendoza added. “We all know the type of hitter Judge is and I thought he executed some really good pitches. That strike three to Judge, that two-seamer, that was really impressive.”
With the largest hurdle cleared, Diekman went on to coax a Ben Rice grounder to end the game, deliver the Mets a third-straight win over the Yankees, and provide an enormous confidence boost for a veteran southpaw who was desperate to get back on track in 2024.
“I’m pretty sure it helps him,” Mendoza said. “He’s done it before. He’s been in the league for a long time. He’s been through struggles before and he’s gotten out of it. We’ve been saying it: Guys are going to get the outs, there are going to be opportunities. Today, what a huge spot for him, especially where we were at bullpen-wise.
“We were just mixing and matching as much as possible. We knew a lefty was coming up and that would be his spot. For him to go out there, stay on the attack, throw strikes — that’s a good sign.”
