ATLANTA — If this season of highs and lows were to end in a special place, these are the words that would be etched into Mets lore:
“Trust me,” Edwin Diaz told coach Carlos Mendoza. “got it.”
Diaz was tired after a disastrous eighth inning in the opening game of a doubleheader at Trust Park.
He had thrown 26 pitches the night before.
He threw 21 pitches through the eighth inning.
Only eight of those were strikes.
However, after giving up a three-run lead, Diaz returned to the dugout and watched Francisco Lindor hit a two-run home run to give the Mets a one-run lead.
While everyone else was freaking out, Diaz went to his coach.
He asked Jeremy Hefner if he was still in the game, and the pitching coach said no.
So Diaz climbed a step higher on the ladder and approached Mendoza.
Diaz used a variety of words to make his point.
“I told Mendy, 'I'm leaving no matter what,'” Dias said. “I don't care what you say. I'll be back.”
Of course, Diaz was able to tell this story with a smile because everything went well.
When his arms (and at one point, his brains) were useless, the Mets closer used sheer will to score an exhilarating 8-7 victory over the Braves and punch the Mets' ticket to the postseason.
It would be understandable if Mendoza lost faith.
Diaz entered the game in the eighth inning, with his team leading 6-3, with one out and two runners on base.
Diaz forced Gio Urshela to tap out and Jared Kelenic's ground ball to the first base line was stopped by a diving Pete Alonso infield.
Alonso stood up and tried to toss first, but no one was there. Diaz forgot to cover his bases, allowing a score and opening the scoring.
“That was a mistake,” Diaz said, later apologizing to his teammates in the clubhouse.
Diaz walked Michael Harris II on four pitches, loading the bases.
A middle field fastball to Ozzie Albies was hit to left, resulting in a double with the bases loaded.
The Mets' lead was gone, and Diaz seemed lost.
But while Lindor's swing changed the game, it didn't change Diaz's mind.
“This team has given me a lot and trusted me,” Diaz said. “If we lose the game, I want to be on the losing side. I want to fight for this team, for them.”
So Diaz, exhausted from having just lost the lead, took the mound again, seizing the chance to take the lead.
With one out, Eli White singled and stole second base.
When Mendoza took the mound, Diaz began to argue that he should stay, but Mendoza had already accepted.
They talked about controlling the running game, with Mendoza leaving his closer in the game to live or die.
Two outs later, they made it out alive. Travis d'Arnaud grounded out and, after 40 pitches, Diaz threw again and his glove bounced onto the mound.
Francisco Alvarez jumped at the pitcher, but Diaz's feet remained stuck to the ground.
The pitcher, who tore his patella tendon during one of the celebrations, had promised his wife he wouldn't jump this time.
His wife and Mendoza could trust him.
