Big Boy Time: Mets used Phillies to warn rest of MLB Playoff field about Edwin Diaz

There are several reasons why the New York Mets were able to win three of four games against the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies, even without their MVP candidate, Francisco Lindor. The starting pitching, with the exception of Friday's game, was incredible. Struggling hitters like Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez both hit a pair of home runs. The biggest story, though, was the performance of Edwin Diaz.

The Mets had been conservative with Diaz's usage all season after he missed the entire 2023 campaign due to injury, but their attitude has changed in September with a trip to the postseason very much within reach. The 11 appearances he has made in September have tied his season-high for any month, and there are still another six games on the docket.

For the Mets to win as tough of a series as this one was, they needed Diaz to come through in close games late. Not only did the Mets call upon him twice in the four games, but they asked him to record more than three outs both times, unleashing him in must-win games. The two appearances he made happened to be on back-to-back nights as well.

The series was capped with Diaz recording a six-out save against the loaded Phillies lineup while being armed with a skinny one-run lead. The ask was huge, but Diaz was up for the challenge.

“We’ve been protecting him the whole year,” Mendoza explained afterward. “And now it’s big boy time. He’s our guy.”

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Edwin Diaz puts league on notice with performance vs. Phillies

Despite giving up a hit, walking two batters, and surrendering four stolen bases, Diaz recorded six outs with no margin for error against a loaded lineup. His four strikeouts and 13 whiffs on 30 pitches helped him immensely.

Despite the heavy workload, Diaz was still firing bullets with the game on the line, delivering a 101 mph fastball on the pitch before striking out Kody Clemens with 98 mph heat. His ability to throw as hard as he did after throwing as many pitches as he did proves that this might not just be a one-off thing for Diaz.

Diaz had rough patches in mid-May and late August but has been as dominant as ever in September, allowing just one earned run and striking out 21 batters in 11.2 innings of work. The more he's been used, the better he's been, and the Mets plan on riding that all the way to and presumably in the postseason.

This Mets bullpen outside of Diaz has left a lot to be desired all season, so knowing that the right-hander is capable of recording four or even six outs against a team as good as the Phillies has to give Carlos Mendoza an immense amount of comfort.

If the Mets get into the postseason, they'll have one of the most dominant closers in the game throwing the ball better than he has all season with the ability to go more than three outs if needed. With how well they're playing, the Mets are a team that nobody wants to face in October, but this added element of Diaz looking as close to his dominant 2022 self as he has all season makes New York even scarier.