Mets' Edwin Diaz caused drama, but Carlos Mendoza had 'no doubt'

A smiling Edwin Diaz summed it up well.

“I had my ups and downs,” Diaz said hours after the final pitch at a Citi Field still packed with players and fans who didn’t want to leave, “but at the end of the day I did it.” my job.”

He did his job, throwing more pitches than ever before in such a short amount of time and ensuring that a dramatic Mets season culminated.

Diaz wasn't sharp – not even close – but the closer closed out the Mets' 4-1 win over the Phillies on Wednesday.

Following Jose Quintana and Reed Garrett, David Peterson was excellent for 2 ¹/₃ innings in which he threw just 23 pitches.

With a three-run lead and the No. 6 batter facing the Phillies, Carlos Mendoza opted to pull the left-hander and use one of the most electric — and combustible — arms in the game.

“It was always going to be Diaz. He’s the best in the league,” Mendoza said of a pitcher who continues to scare but continues to escape. “And when Petey got through the eighth round, it was Díaz's game. I had no doubt.”

The doubts might have crept in after the first two batters. Diaz threw a total of 10 pitches to JT Realmuto and Bryson Stott, both of whom walked, to bring in the game-winning run at the plate.

He didn't know why his location was missing. Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and Francisco Alvarez visited Diaz with a pretty simple message: Aim for the middle.

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“They said, 'Hey, your fastball looks great today.' You have a lot of life in your fastball, just throw it right down the middle,” Diaz recalls. “'We're winning by three runs, and I don't think they can hit your fastball with much power.'

“So that’s what I did. I threw my fastball right down the middle and got the outs.”

Four of Diaz's five throws against Kody Clemens, who got a strikeout, were fastballs. All four of his throws to Brandon Marsh, who was thrown out, were fastballs. Three sliders helped the imposing Kyle Schwarber get two strikeouts, but Diaz reached back and threw Schwarber at 101 mph for his third strikeout.

“Even after the two walks,” Mendoza said, “I knew he would make it, and he did. “Here we celebrate.”

They also celebrated in Atlanta, where Diaz took a three-run lead in the eighth, watched as Francisco Lindor put the Mets back in the lead in the ninth, and Diaz told Mendoza before the finale was taped, “I did it.” .” three outs.

They also celebrated in Milwaukee, where Diaz walked two of the first three batters he faced but survived, eventually giving way to Peterson for the save.

The drama remains, as does the end result.

“Today I just came here and did my job,” Diaz said.