LOS ANGELES — When playing against the Dodgers, it’s always clear where Shohei Ohtani lurks in the lineup. The team plans around him. So when Ohtani approached home plate in the eighth inning on Saturday with a potential game-tying shot, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pressed a button he hadn’t touched all season. He called out Edwin Diaz before the ninth inning.
The result wasn’t exactly a smooth effort from Diaz. But the Mets’ closer did enough to load the bases in the eighth inning of a 6-4 win over the Dodgers, striking out Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy. This allowed Reid Garrett to record his first career save in the ninth inning at Chavez Ravine.
“I thought the game was going to be in the eighth inning, our best player against their best hitter,” Mendoza said.
Starling Marte’s 3-run homer gave the Mets the lead for good in the 6th inning, but the game remained close and both managers were forced to empty their bullpens. Diaz hadn’t pitched in five days, so Mendoza could allow Diaz an extension that would allow him to pitch in multiple innings for the first time since 2022.
That was in the back of Mendoza’s mind, but the manager was more interested in making sure Diaz could compete against the core of Los Angeles’ team: Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Hernandez.
With one out and Mookie Betts at first base, Diaz came in with a simple plan. The idea was to pitch carefully to Ohtani and Freeman and try to get them to make offers based on their pitches. However, it didn’t work, and both sluggers issued walks, loading the bases.
At that point, Diaz abandoned his finesse, attacking Hernandez with a slider over the center of the plate and striking Muncy with a fastball. What is noteworthy is that Diaz’s speed, which was a little slower in his last appearance, has accelerated again this time. He averaged over 97 mph on his four-seamer, and his top speed was 98.1 mph.
Relying on both his increased speed and his typically wicked slider, Diaz struck out Hernandez and Muncy to prevent the bases from being loaded and maintain a two-run lead.
“I’m confident he’ll get out of this tough situation,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to keep pitching. And he did that today.”
Diaz needed 20 pitches to record two outs, so Mendoza quickly abandoned his plan to bring Diaz back into the ninth inning. It helped that the manager had another reliable bullpen weapon in Garrett, even though he spent the first part of the season in the minors. Garrett entered the day as the major league reliever in strikeouts. Garrett added to April’s legend with three quick strikeouts. He has now appeared in six games and has one save and three wins.
“Hey, he’s doing great,” Diaz said. “He stepped up in the ninth inning and got a strikeout. That’s pretty cool. You don’t always get to pitch No. 9. I can come in early in the game and do my job, and I can pitch No. 9. We have players like him who can do their job every time.”
With this win, the Mets have won six in a row and 12 of their past 15 games, ensuring a series victory over the Dodgers. On a difficult afternoon when the Mets were without starting catcher Francisco Alvarez for the time being, Mendoza’s use of the bullpen allowed the team to at least enjoy the consolation of a win.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Tomas Nido, one of Alvarez’s substitutes after pitching the final three innings. “I know they bring it every day. I was watching from the other side, so I was excited to get back out there and keep the ball rolling.”