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Edwin Diaz didn't listen to anyone with a postseason spot on the line. Even on one of his bad days, which he seemingly turned great by clutching the ninth inning. He pushed the New York Mets to earn the final NL Wild Card Spot as they take out the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the doubleheader.
The Mets were on their way to win Game 1, with them scoring six runs in their half of the eighth inning to take a 6-3 lead. The Braves responded with four runs to take a 7-6 lead. Two of those runs were earned by Mets' closer Edwin Diaz, who was then told he was done for the game by pitching coach Jeremy Hafner.
However, after Francisco Lindor's two-run homer in the top of the ninth thrust the Mets to an 8-7 lead, Diaz jumped out and overruled his coaches to pitch in the 9th inning.
"I'm going back out. I don't care what you say, I'm going back out," Díaz told Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. "I got this s--t."
The decision proved to be great as Edwin Diaz allowed only one hit before grounding out Travis d'Arnaud for the final out of the game.
What if Edwin Diaz had blown out the save opportunity?
Had Edwin Diaz blown out the save and allowed the Braves to win Game 1 of the doubleheader, the Mets would have to win Game 2 to clinch Wild Card spot.
Entering Monday's doubleheader fixture, the Braves and the Mets have 88-72 records. With the Arizona Diamondbacks finishing their regular season at 89-73, the only way both the Mets and the Braves could thrust into the postseason was if they split the doubleheader.
Since the Braves hold tiebreaker advantage over both the Mets and the Dbacks, only a win would have been enough for them to clinch the Wild Card Spot. So that means if the Mets would have lost Game 1, they had no option but to win Game 2 to deny Dbacks a spot.
The Braves would win Game 2 3-0, which means that if Edwin Diaz had blown the save situation, it would have been them who would have gotten eliminated from the postseason.
