PHOENIX – Edwin Diaz was cautioned for making a four-out save on Wednesday, sending the Mets into the desert night to be mauled by coyotes.
In a throwback to his bad old days – see May, when his season derailed – Diaz walked the first two batters he faced before allowing a grand slam to Corbin Carroll for the leadoff hit.
The Mets never recovered from their 8-5 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
It was Diaz’s second consecutive poor performance after allowing a walk-off home run to Padres phenom Jackson Merrill in the ninth inning on Sunday.
This latest setback puts the Mets four games behind Atlanta in the race for the NL’s third wild card.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. took the lead off first in the eighth inning against Phil Maton, starting the comeback.
Maton got the rebound for the next two outs before manager Carlos Mendoza signaled to Diaz, who walked Pavin Smith and Geraldo Perdomo before Carroll cleared the right-field fence for his second home run of the game.
That night, the Mets fell into an 0-4 hole after four innings before catching up in the fifth inning to tie the game.
In the sixth inning, it was Starling Marte’s running work that gave the Mets the decisive point.
Marte singled on a bunt and stole second base before reaching third base on a ground out by Brandon Nimmo.
Particularly notable was his sprint to the batting crease on Pete Alonso’s fly into center left field.
Gurriel’s throw to home was better than Marte, whose dive came before catcher Adrian Del Castillo’s tag.
It was a strong performance from a player who had been out for two months due to a bone bruise in his right knee.
Luis Severino was replaced after 4 ²/₃ innings in which he allowed four earned runs on eight hits with nine strikeouts and one walk.
The right-hander injured his left ankle in the third inning, which may have contributed to his disappointing performance.
Luis Guillorme, playing in a third different jersey against his former team this season, managed nine pitches in the second inning and then hit an RBI single that put the Mets behind, 1-0.
Guillorme began the season with the Braves before moving to the Angels and D’backs.
Gurriel started the rally with a walk, and Adrian Del Castillo hit a single before Guillorme, who started at second base because MVP candidate Ketel Marte was on the injured list, delivered with two outs.
Severino was hit in the left ankle by Jake McCarthy’s comebacker in the third inning and walked cautiously around the mound during a visit from Mendoza and the trainer.
Severino stayed in the game. After McCarthy stole second base and reached third on a missed throw by Francisco Alvarez, Joc Pederson hit a two-run home run to right field that extended the D’backs’ lead to 3-0.
In the fourth inning, Carroll hit a solo home run to center against Severino, putting the Mets behind by four runs.
But the Mets bats woke up in the fifth inning against left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez.
The big hit was Harrison Bader’s two-run homer that tied the game at 4-4 after the Mets had fought back to score two runs. Nimmo was the Mets’ first baserunner of the night, walking, and JD Martinez’s hit to right-center field was an RBI double.
Trailing 2-0 with two outs, Alvarez hit an RBI single before Bader hit his 10th home run of the season and his second in four games.
Gurriel hit a two-out double in the fifth inning to end Severino’s night. Huascar Brazoban came in and took Del Castillo out of action.
After Marte bunted for a single early in the inning, he stole second base and advanced on Nimmo’s ground out.
Alonso hit a line drive to left and Marte was brought up.
The throw home was faster than him, but Marte escaped Del Castillo’s blow with a diving header.
