Another day, another dramatic comeback win for the San Francisco Giants. And also another crushing loss for the New York Mets. Saturday afternoon the Giants erased a one-run ninth inning deficit against Edwin Díaz before breaking the game open in the tenth (SF 7, NY 2 in 10 innings). It was San Francisco’s fourth straight come-from-behind win.
“It’s just kind of what we’re doing right now,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the game. “We talk about it everyday, it’s the 27th out. Until then every at-bat means as much in the first as in the ninth. We seem to have a little flair for the dramatic here recently.”
The Mets have lost five straight games and, in each of the last three, the bullpen let a late lead slip away. Friday night Patrick Bailey crushed a grand slam against setup man Reed Garrett in the eighth inning to turn the game around. On Saturday, LaMonte Wade Jr. hooked a pinch-hit single to right field to tie the game against Díaz.
Here’s the game-tying hit:
Díaz has really struggled this season, enough that the Mets removed him from the closer’s role earlier this week, but the rest of the bullpen has been so shaky as of late that manager Carlos Mendoza went to Díaz in the ninth inning Saturday. The result was his fourth blown save of the season and his third in his last three save chances. He has a 5.40 ERA.
“He’s going through it right now,” Mendoza said about Díaz after Saturday’s game. “Obviously, had a week to work on some things. And today gets ambushed on the first pitch of the inning, strikeout, then obviously Wade ball down the line. We’ve got to continue to stay with him, work with him and get him through it because he’s a big part of our bullpen.”
Reliever Sean Reid-Foley allowed a single and a bases loaded walk in the top of the tenth, then Mike Yastrzemski busted things wide open with a bases-clearing triple. According to MLB.com, the Giants have won four straight games in come-from-behind fashion for the first time since Sept. 5-8, 2020. They’ve won eight of their last nine overall and are 27-26 this season.
As for the Mets, they’ve lost 15 of their last 20 games and are a season worst nine games under .500. Their season can be split into three unequal segments: 0-5 start, 12-3 in their next 15 games, and now 9-22 in their last 31 games. On Opening Day, owner Steve Cohen said he would “disappointed” if the Mets miss the postseason.
