All-Star closer Edwin Diaz earns 30th save as Mets hand Pirates their 90th loss

Soon after Oneil Cruz hit a majestic two-run homer to straightaway center, the trumpets sounded at Citi Field and New York Mets fans started clapping in celebration.

It was not in appreciation of Cruz’s 429-foot blast but rather the excitement for the entrance song, “Narco,” of All-Star closer Edwin Diaz.

Diaz got the final two outs of the eighth inning with the Mets clinging to a one-run lead, then finished off the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth for his 30th save to clinch a 4-3 win Friday night at Citi Field.

“That’s a huge moment in the game,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “That puts us at 4-3. They have to bring the best closer in the game come in to get five outs.”

For the Pirates (55-90), the defeat clinched second consecutive season and third in four years with 90 or more losses. They finished 61-101 last season and 69-93 in 2019, with an MLB-worst 19-41 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season in-between.

The Pirates were trailing 4-1 when Tyler Heineman hit a one-out single to center off Mets starter Taijuan Walker (12-4). That brought to the plate Cruz, who had been robbed of a homer by right fielder Jeff McNeil in the fifth inning. Cruz sent Walker’s 100th pitch, an elevated fastball on a 1-2 count, out of the park at a game-best 112.4-mph exit velocity.

Diaz made quick work of Bryan Reynolds, who lined out to right on the first pitch, and got Rodolfo Castro looking at a 100.6 mph fastball for a called third strike and the final out of the eighth.

In the ninth, Diaz gave up a leadoff walk to Ben Gamel but the Mets won a challenge when pinch runner Greg Allen was caught stealing at second base as Luis Guillorme blocked the bag with his left leg. Diaz struck out Ke’Bryan Hayes and got Cal Mitchell to fly out to deep right.

“We took good swings off him,” Shelton said of Diaz. “I was proud of our guys and how they continued to battle.”

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Eduardo Escobar drew a walk then scored from first on a Tomas Nido single to right, blowing through the stop sign by third base coach Joey Cora when Gamel’s throw to home plate was off target.

That run ended Keller’s career-long scoreless streak at 17 innings, the longest by a Pirates starter this season and best since Trevor Williams threw 20 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in 2018. Only reliever Chase De Jong had a longer streak by a Pirates pitcher this season, throwing 19 scoreless inning from Aug. 13-Sept. 9.

Daniel Vogelbach smashed Keller’s 1-0 slider 399 feet to left-center for his 17th home run and a 2-0 lead in the fourth. It was Vogelbach’s fifth homer since the Mets acquired him from the Pirates for right-handed reliever Colin Holderman on July 22.

“He’s a really good hitter and takes advantage of people’s mistakes,” Keller said. “He was ready to hit it and put a good one on it.”

The Pirates rallied in the fifth when Hayes reached on a throwing error by Escobar, advanced to third on Mitchell’s single to right and scored on an infield chopper by Michael Chavis to cut it to 2-1.

Walker got Jack Suwinski and Heineman to line out to center, but Cruz hit a curveball that carried deep to right field, where McNeil made a leaping catch at the top of the fence to prevent a three-run homer.

“We hit a ball that they made a really good catch on at the wall,” Shelton said. “It’s two runs if it falls and three if it gets over the fence.”

Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor hit back-to-back singles to start the sixth, and Nimmo scored on Pete Alonso’s sacrifice fly to center to stretch the lead to 3-1. When Keller intentionally walked Vogelbach and hit Mark Canha with a pitch to load the bases, Shelton made a mound visit to find out Keller’s plan of attack.

“Usually, when you see the manager, it’s not a good thing. He’s usually coming to take you out,” Keller said. “But he didn’t point to the bullpen, so I knew we were going to have a talk.”

Added Shelton: “His plan was good — and it was his plan. When I asked him, ‘What do you want to do here?’ he had it set in his mind. He was in a good spot. It was a huge moment for Mitch.”

Shelton left Keller in to face Guillorme, and he threw three consecutive fastballs, the first for a called strike, the second for a swinging strike before getting Guillorme to line out to Cruz at short to escape the jam. It was the third consecutive quality start for Keller (5-11), who allowed five hits with two walks while striking out six but took the loss.

“It is trust. He’s deserved that the way he’s pitched over the last three months,” Shelton said. “It was more where he was at and how he was going to attack. Right out of his mouth was the plan, what he wanted to do. He was very clear. He was very firm, which was good. I wanted to hear what he was going to do and how he wanted to do it. That was a growth moment. Going in and executing pitches, and he did a heck of a job.”

Lefty reliever Manny Banuelos had little luck in the seventh, when he gave up a leadoff double to Escobar followed by a pair of fielding mishaps by Cruz. Nido’s liner bounced off Cruz’s chest for an error to put runners on first and third. Cruz chased Nimmo’s bloop into shallow left with his back to the infield but the ball dropped for a hit to score Escobar for a 4-1 lead.

“Oneil’s got to go after it, not knowing where Jack’s at,” Shelton said. “That’s something where we have to be more vocal, and we have to call the baseball. That’s a tough play for an outfielder, when you’ve got a guy that big running at you. That’s something, because Oneil’s so athletic, we’re going to have to continue to work on.”

It was the Pirates’ second consecutive loss to the Mets in the four-game series but one with an atmosphere that gave a 90-loss team a taste of what the postseason could feel like.

“It was a really fun game, just a battle back and forth with them,” Keller said. “They’re a playoff team, so it’s a fun environment, a playoff environment.”