Mets Send Struggling Diaz Back Out To Finish Suspended Game, Lose In Extra Innings
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Although Paul DeJong got the winning hit, credit Matt Carpenter with a most unusual called shot.
"Carp said right before the game, 'We're about to win this game in 20 minutes,'" DeJong said.
In fact, St. Louis only needed 18.
DeJong grounded an RBI single off Edwin Díaz in the 10th inning, and the Cardinals quickly completed their rally from a night earlier to beat the New York Mets 5-4 Friday.
The game Thursday was suspended after 8 1/2 innings, moments after the Cardinals' Harrison Bader drove in the tying run with a two-out double off Díaz in the rain.
Play resumed where things left off, and a small crowd at Citi Field saw Carlos Martinez (1-0) pitch a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth. Díaz (1-4) then jogged out of the bullpen to continue his outing.
"I didn't even know who was pitching until he ran out there," DeJong said.
Pinch-hitter Yairo Muñoz led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on Carpenter's groundout. DeJong followed by grounding a ball into left field to score Muñoz.
"All it took was one inning," DeJong said. "It was a good win for us."
Jordan Hicks pitched perfectly through the bottom of the inning for his 14th save.
For Diaz, his 24-hour nightmare continued on Friday after surrendering a two-run lead in the rain on Thursday. Diaz blew his third save of the year before the suspension and then suffered his fourth loss of 2019 after the game resumed.
The struggling closer had four losses in all of last season.
Diaz's season has spiraled into an abyss after going 8-for-8 in save chances with a 1.54 ERA through April. His season ERA has now ballooned to 3.58 to go along with those three blown saves in May and June.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
