It looked as if Tuesday night’s pivotal game against the Cubs was going to get away from the Mets after David Peterson’spoor start, but the bullpen buckled down and allowed New York to complete the comeback win.
The Mets used six relievers, including Edwin Diaz for a six-out save, to lock down a 9-7 win that vaulted the team back into a playoff berth.
“Huge,” Mets manager Carlos Mendozasaid of his bullpen after the win. “Starting with [Huascar] Brazoban and to be able to get us through the fifth. Then you start matching up. [Ryne] Stanek was good, [Gregory] Soto was good. [Tyler] Rogers came in, walked a guy ended up scoring with a single, and then going up for a second up… and then [Brooks] Raley getting the lefty with two guys on and then Sugar with two innings there, shutting it down. Huge.”
Peterson could only get four outs before Mendoza had to pull his starter. Although the southpaw only tossed 42 pitches, with a playoff spot on the line with just six games remaining, Mendoza was playing Tuesday like it was the last day of the season. He said so himself after the win, stating that he can’t think about tomorrow’s game and that he is only dealing with the current game. He managed like that, being aggressive with a rested bullpen and it paid off.
The bullpen allowed just one unearned run heading into the fifth when the Mets’ offense came alive for five to tie the game at 6-6. Although the bullpen gave back the lead after the Mets scored the go-ahead run in the sixth, the relievers gave the team enough for Francisco Alvarez to hit his go-ahead homer in the eighth.
Once the Mets had the lead, Mendoza was sticking with his closer.
“Where we’re at now, we’re gonna to continue to push those guys,” Mendoza said. “I just thought, tie ballgame, top of the order coming up for them, we had our guys coming up for the ninth, I needed to give our offense another chance to score runs. I’m glad Alvy hit that two-run homer there. I start with Diaz, once he was pitch efficient, I checked with him, he’s like “let’s go” and I gave it to him.”
Diaz said they approached him before the game that he may pitch in the eighth inning if needed, and once he got through his first frame and Alvarez hit the home run, the Mets closer was ready to close it out.
“I was really fired up. After seeing that homer from Alvy, it was big,” Diaz said after the game. “I came out, shut it down and then came on in the ninth to get the last three outs quick. It was pretty fun. It was great. It was a battle, back and forth… It was a really great game for both teams.”
“At times, it’s been a struggle for those guys,” Mendoza said of his bullpen. “But we believe in them.”
Peterson was probably happiest with the bullpen’s performance on Tuesday. After he couldn’t get out of the second, the bullpen picked him up in a big way and the 30-year-old was grateful.
“Amazing team win – can’t say enough about the bullpen, they stepped up big and I don’t have enough words to show my appreciation for what they did,” Peterson said. “They picked me up big time, the offense picked it up and kept us in the game… this is the team that we have and we’re gonna stick together and guys are gonna pick each other up and I’m extremely grateful and proud to be a part of this group.”
Tuesday’s win puts the Mets one game ahead of the Reds, who lost earlier in the evening, for the third NL wild card spot. With five games to go, the Mets will continue to lean on their bullpen as they try and navigate the end of the regular season with question marks in their rotation. But with Diaz always looming at the end of games, the Mets have a shot to end the season on a high note.
“We just gotta finish strong and see what happens on the last day of the season,” Diaz said. “Just get outs. I think every guy in the bullpen knows what he has to do to get outs. Today we saw it, the bullpen did a really good job. From Brazoban to me, we did a really good job staying in the game and at the end we got the win. Tomorrow we got a game with the same mentality – when they give us the ball, just go out there and compete, get outs and try to win the game.”
David Peterson on his outing tonight vs. the Cubs:
“Weird one but a tough one. Amazing team win. Can’t say enough about the bullpen, they stepped up big. I don’t have enough words to show my appreciation for what they did. They picked me up big time” pic.twitter.com/RzntuFjlju— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2025
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