The New York Mets seemed on their way to a stunning and dominant 2-0 lead late in Game 2 against the Philadelphia Phillies. That was until Bryson Stott tripled home two runs and gave the Phillies a lead. Things would go back and forth from there, but SNY insider Andy Martino believes one event prior to that triple is what helped doom the Mets.
Martino said:
"This [bullpen] is the one thing they do really need to still be concerned about. It showed up in the Game 2 loss to the Phillies. Carlos Mendoza pushed all the right buttons, he just didn't have a lot of buttons ... He was right to bring Edwin Diaz in in that seventh inning ... Diaz made the fateful decision to pitch around Bryce Harper in the eighth."
The analyst went on to say that Edwin Diaz didn't execute his slider against Stott after the walk, which ultimately led to the runs being scored and changing the trajectory of the game. With Harper and Castellanos on base, that proved to be crucial.
Martino finished by saying that the silver lining is that neither of these teams' bullpens is in order. The Phillies have also blown two saves against the Mets in the two games thus far.
Edwin Diaz mentions fear of the Phillies
Edwin Diaz, after the loss on a Nick Castellanos walk-off single, said he pitched around Bryce Harper. He openly said he wasn't trying to see Harper go deep and was trying to get the next guy, Castellanos, out instead. It backfired.
Via NJ.com, the Mets star said:
“After the walk to Harper, I think I was a little bit - I went lazy to him instead of attacking him. You know, I tried to make pitches to see if he can chase and get the out instead of going against him like I always do.”
The walk to Harper paved the way for a single by Castellanos and a two-run triple from Stott. The Mets would bounce back and keep it tied going into the bottom of the ninth, but bullpen woes, including another walk to Harper, ended up costing them.