sad news; Edwin Diaz outs weeks with pec injury…….
The Mets needed five outs Sunday to finish what had been a good few days in the land of perfect weather and gain in the wild-card race on two of the three teams ahead of them.
It was all going smoothly until Jose Butto walked No. 9 hitter Matt McCoy in the eighth.
Moments later, Butto was watching Jurickson Profar circle the bases, having flushed the Mets’ lead with a two-run blast.
The late-inning meltdown ended with Edwin Diaz walking off the mound with his head down, after Jackson Merrill’s ninth-inning blast rocketed into the right field seats and gave the Mets a 3-2 walk-off loss to the Padres at Petco Park.
And so, the Mets had to settle for a split in the four-game series against a top wild-card contender and missed an opportunity to match a season high by moving seven games above .500.
The Mets remained 2 ½ games behind Atlanta for the NL’s third wild card. Diaz struck out Jake Cronenworth to begin the ninth before the rookie sensation Merrill pounced on a 2-0 slider and ended it.
“I just missed my location,” Diaz said. “I was trying to throw my slider down and in to him and I just left it in the middle.”
The Mets have Monday to recover in Arizona before opening a three-game series against the sizzling Diamondbacks a day later.
