Javier Baez and drama: On the way to becoming an iconic Mets duo.
Baez walked up to the plate in the sixth inning with the Mets trailing Wade Miley and the Reds by three runs. Pete Alonso was on first after a single. Jonathan Villar would have been at second, but he got picked off for the sixth time this season, the most in the majors. Villar’s pickoff killed the buzz in the stadium, as fans already expected the first out of the inning to wipe out a potential rally.
Not one to shy away from the spotlight, El Mago made sure his Mets debut would be unforgettable in their 5-4 extra-innings win over the Reds on Saturday night.
“I’m going to do my magic here,” Baez said in an amped-up on-field interview. “I’m going to make them fun, we’re going to compete, and hopefully we go far in the playoffs.”
The Mets’ splashy trade-deadline acquisition parked a two-run shot to left field, his first home run as a Met. The applause from the crowd crescendoed into a frenzy as Baez trotted around the bases, seemingly indifferent to the roar surrounding him. Only when he reached the dugout and hugged his close friend Francisco Lindor, who was hyped for his shortstop replacement, did Baez allow himself to smile. He said it’s a “big deal” having Lindor motivate the team.
Baez let go of Lindor’s embrace and jumped up to the top step of the Mets dugout, raised his arms and took a curtain call. Fans responded with another explosion of applause and chants. Baez became the first Met this season to receive a curtain call, as he took in the New York spotlight as if he’d been playing in Queens for years.
“I was really excited to hear the fans cheer my name,” said Baez. “That’s the biggest thing that motivates me, to be out there playing for the fans. The love that they showed me tonight, it was really special.”
Even though the Chicago transplant allowed the masses to escape reality for a few minutes, the realization that Baez’s two-run home run still wasn’t enough to top Cincinnati’s lead soon took centerstage. After Baez’s dramatic at-bat, catcher James McCann flied out to end the inning and Amazin’s deficit was trimmed to one run. No other Mets batter reached base after Baez’s dinger until a gripping ninth inning that sent the game to extras.
Jeff McNeil walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, then Reds right-hander Heath Hembree threw a wild pitch to put the tying run in scoring position. Baez and McCann both struck out chasing Hembree’s sliders, then Dominic Smith delivered the game-tying RBI single off left-hander Sean Doolittle. Onto the 10th inning, and it was Edwin Diaz’s turn to pick up the baton from an excellent performance by the Mets bullpen.
After Rich Hill was charged with four earned runs in five innings, six Mets relievers combined to pitch five scoreless innings against a potent Reds offense that has scored the second-most runs in the National League. Diaz was the last of those relievers to put on a big-time performance in a high-leverage situation. His wild pitch advanced the ghost runner to third, but escaped with two strikeouts and a flyout to give the Mets the opportunity to walk it off.
“You can feel something building,” said Hill of the 2021 Mets. “The atmosphere not only in the stadium is incredible, but also in the clubhouse. You start to feel this steamroll coming downhill and really pick up a pace that, I think we’re going to be an exciting team to watch down the stretch.”
Brandon Drury was the late-game hero with a walk-off single to center field in the 10th inning. Drury is batting 11-for-15 since the team called him up a week ago. The Mets mobbed him in the center of the diamond to celebrate their 20th come-from-behind win of the season.
Drury received the start in right field on Saturday to provide a day off for Michael Conforto, who is hitting .198 and has struggled offensively this season. Rojas has demonstrated he is not afraid to hurt a player’s ego in order to play the hot hand, and Drury should receive more playing time while he’s raking at the plate.
“I’m going to do whatever I can to help the team win ballgames,” Drury said. “I come to the field and I get my ground balls in, fly balls, just try to stay sharp at whatever position so when my name is called, I’m ready to go.”