A one-run lead is never enough for the Mets’ bullpen, and Edwin Diaz gave up the tying run trying for a four-out save in the top of the eighth inning. But after the Mets took back a one-run lead in the eighth, Ryne Stanek was able to protect it for the save (two), helping secure a 3-2 win to salvage a series against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.
Stanek wasn’t anticipating being called on for the save in the ninth since Diaz had thrown 16 pitches, but he started to sense that the Mets could make another change after the closer blew only his second save of the season. Stanek’s intuition proved correct.
“You just kind of stay as ready as you feel like you need to be,” the setup man said. “It’s great. It’s where you want to be, and you want to be pitching in those situations.”
But the real hero of the day was catcher Luis Torrens, who went 1-for-4 with a fielder’s choice RBI, catching all nine innings and taking several foul tips to the body and the mask.
“Just another day at the office,” Torrens said. “Whenever you help the team, you always feel good, and it’s special getting the game-winner. I think that’s the most important thing, [anytime] you can help the team, it’s good.”
“He’s tough as nails,” added left-hander David Peterson. “I mean, he wore a couple bad ones today. The perseverance and the focus that he has is very commendable.”
The Mets didn’t get any big hits, but they were advantageous on the basepaths, using their legs to make the singles count, taking two off of left-hander Andrew Abbott over his six-inning start. They did the same against left-hander Brent Suter and right-hander Tony Santillian in the bottom of the eighth to push the tying run across. Suter (1-1) walked Juan Soto and gave up a one-out double to Jeff McNeil.
Cincinnati then went to the bullpen to have Santillian face catcher Luis Torrens with runners on second and third. Torrens sent a grounder to McLain at second, and Soto ran on contact, beating the throw home.
“That was the read, the contact was on, but you’ve got to be able to execute it,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “And he did.”
McLain’s throw was on the line and Stephenson had good positioning with his foot on the plate, but Soto was halfway down the line by the time McLain was able to field the ball. He managed to get rid of it quickly, but Soto slid in head first behind Stephenson safely.
“The primary lead, and then the timing of the secondary allows him to get a great jump on contact and score easy,” Mendoza said. “It was a bullet right at the second baseman, but the way [Soto] executed it, that’s how you teach it.”
It was a rough start to the game for the Mets and Peterson. Mark Vientos started at first base in place of Pete Alonso and was unable to make a tough pick, allowing leadoff man T.J. Friedl to reach base. Second baseman Luisangel Acuña made a tough play to stop a hard ground ball, but his throw to Vientos had a little too much juice on it, and he was charged with an error.
McLain and De La Cruz then hit back-to-back singles to drive in a run and give the Reds an early 1-0 lead.
Peterson got Hays to ground into a 5-4-3 double play, and Steer lined out to shortstop Francisco Lindor to end the inning and prevent further runs from crossing.
“I felt good in the bullpen, got out there and felt a little out of sync at the beginning, and was able to kind of correct it,” Peterson said. “I threw quite a few pitches in the first three innings and just wanted to be efficient going forward, and so just getting back to pounding the zone and attacking.”
In the bottom of the second, Peterson got the first two outs before loading the bases, but he struck out McLain to get out of the jam. From there, his outing was much smoother, with the big lefty retiring the next six straight and 11 of 12 to end his outing.
The Mets scored one run in the bottom of the third and another in the fifth to give Peterson a 2-1 lead heading into his final inning. Peterson held the Reds to one unearned run on four hits, walked one and struck out four in six innings, his second straight outing of six or more innings and his 12th this season.
“I thought he did his job,” said Mendoza. “We’re not putting a number on him. I thought six innings, 93 pitches, I wasn’t going to try to steal outs with him today, with the righties he’s coming up [in the seventh inning]. We have our guys set up there and that was all there was to it.”
Alonso later entered the game, taking over for Vientos at first base in the top of the seventh, after getting treatment on the jammed right thumb that had him on the bench to start the game. He went 0-for-1 with a strikeout in his only at-bat.
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