New York Mets’ closer Edwin Diaz has recorded over 250 saves in his MLB career, but last night’s might have been the weirdest.
Diaz entered Friday’s game at Great American Ball Park in the ninth inning with a one-run lead, ready to shut the door on the Cincinnati Reds. He eventually earned the save, though it wasn’t easy.
The 31-year-old righty dug himself into a bases-loaded, one-out jam before realizing something was wrong with his cleats. Diaz switched shoes mid-inning and then retired two straight batters to secure the Mets’ 5-4 win.
Diaz’s shoe mishap
Five batters into the ninth, Diaz stopped play.
One of the spikes on his right cleat was dislodged, so Mets’ bat boy Jason Pastuizaca provided a new pair of shoes that Diaz put on in front of the mound. He proceeded to strike out Elly De La Cruz and retire Gavin Lux to secure his 26th save of the season.
“I’ve been in that situation before,” Diaz said, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “I know I’ve got two choices: win the game or lose the game. So I made the right choice: win the game.”
While Diaz downplayed the situation, his teammates couldn’t believe what had happened.
“He definitely didn’t make it easy,” reliever Ryne Stanek said, “but it was one hell of a Houdini.”
Per DiComo, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza even made a remark to third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh during the cleat swap, saying, “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it.”
Diaz’s heroics secured a crucial victory for New York, which pulled six games ahead of the Reds in the NL Wild Card race. The Mets (76-65) are currently tied with the San Diego Padres (76-65) for the second Wild Card spot.
New York faces Cincinnati again tonight at 6:40 p.m. ET.