CINCINNATI — The most important moment in the most important game of the season this far came in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Mets held a one-run lead over the Cincinnati Reds, who had two on with one out. Ryne Stanek, a right-handed fireballer whose fireballs have been getting hit hard as of late, came in to face the middle of the order.
Stanek got out of the inning in dramatic fashion, and the Mets went on to win 5-4 on Friday night at American Family Ballpark. The Reds (70-71) are 6.0 games behind the Mets in the NL Wild Card standings, and won the first series 2-1 at Citi Field in July. The Mets (76-65) need a series win to ensure that Cincinnati won’t be able to knock them out of that third spot.
“Every game is important, regardless of who we were playing,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “I’m glad that we were able to get the job done.”
Not to be outdone, closer Edwin Diaz also got out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth, using a mid-inning shoe change and a stellar play by second baseman Luisangel Acuña. While Stanek inherited two runners, this jam was Diaz’s own creation. Hayes led off with a single, Diaz then issued back-to-back walks to McLain and Friedl.
It was about then that Diaz realized he was unable to plant his left leg after throwing the ball. It was slipping down the mound, affecting his delivery and follow-through. He figured it was just dirt he would need to scrape out of his cleats, but when he picked up his left foot to check, he realized the front spike had completely broken off. Without that spike, he had no grip when his toe landed in the dirt.
He came off the mound and told the umpires he needed to change cleats. It was an unprecedented move, but a staffer retrieved a spare pair from his locker and returned for him to change them both on the field.
“I always land with the front part, I think when it broke, I was slipping on the mound,” Diaz said. “After I changed, I started feeling better. Started preparing myself a little bit better.”
With a better feel for his fastball, the right-hander then struck out Noelvi Marte and Elly De La Cruz.
“I’ve never seen that,” Stanek said. “That was one of the wilder things I’ve seen. Then to come back and punch out Elly right there was an extreme level of confidence and focus that he had to have right there to kind of go through all that, and then get back up and just go right back. It was spectacular.”
The Reds sent out pinch-hitter Gavin Lux in the DH spot, who lined one down the right side. The crowd exploded, but the ball was just barely foul. The Mets caught a break.
At 2-1, Diaz threw Lux a slider. He scorched it nearly 95 MPH off the bat past a diving Pete Alonso. The crowd was already on edge after that last foul liner, and they, predictably, exploded once again. But Luisangel Acuña made a diving stop and Diaz was already halfway over to first base to cover for Alonso. Acuña fired a bullet right at Diaz’s chest for the final out.
“I was sitting here talking to [Tyler] Rogers when it happened, and I go, ‘Well, if anybody can get out of this, it’s Sugar,’” Stanek said. “I was like, ‘If anybody can punch a couple tickets to get out of this, it’s going to be him. So, yeah, he definitely didn’t make it easy, but it was one hell of a Houdini.”
Coming off a series win this week in Detroit against the Tigers, the Mets spotted left-hander David Peterson a three-run lead in the first inning, and went up 4-1 in the third when Mark Vientos homered off of left-hander Andrew Abbott (8-6). The Reds got one back in the bottom of the inning, and a two-out double by Juan Soto in the top of the fourth gave the Mets an insurance run.
That run proved crucial.
Cincinnati came back again in the bottom of the fourth, taking three runs off Peterson to come within one run of tying. Peterson got through the fifth, but after putting two on in the sixth, the Mets went the conservative route by going to the bullpen for Stanek, who posted a 12.38 ERA last month.
It was a bold decision by Mendoza, but it paid off.
“We keep saying that the stuff is right there,” Mendoza said. “He was able to execute. He elevated a fastball today. He got chases with the slider. For him to come in there and shut it down, it was huge.
Stanek has now gone scoreless in his last six outings.
“Anytime you can go out there and help out your boy, and save a couple runs and keep the score there is great, and you feel good about it,” Stanek said. “It was definitely a good one, especially after kind of how some of the year has gone.”
Stanek bridged the gap to Brooks Raley, who handed the ball off to Rogers, and then finally, it was Diaz’s turn for the theatrics. Diaz picked up save No. 26 on the season, crediting it to Acuña.
“He saved the game for me,” Diaz said.
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