CINCINNATI — By the time Edwin Díaz faced his fifth batter in the ninth inning Friday night, he realized something was wrong.
The problem wasn’t nerves, but equipment — the front spike on his right cleat had snapped off, causing the Mets’ closer to lose traction on the mound. With the bases loaded, one run separating two Wild Card hopefuls, and tension at its peak, Díaz did something rarely seen in the middle of a save opportunity: he stopped the game and asked for new shoes.
Moments later, Mets bat boy Jason Pastuizaca sprinted out of the dugout with a fresh pair of cleats. Under the gaze of thousands of stunned fans at Great American Ball Park, Díaz swapped footwear right there on the mound. Once laced up, he went back to work — freezing Elly De La Cruz with a 99 mph heater and finishing the night by retiring Gavin Lux on a wild final play to lock down New York’s 5-4 victory over the Reds.
The win was significant in the standings. The Mets (76-65) pushed their cushion over Cincinnati (70-71) to six games with 21 left on the schedule. They also remained four games clear of the Giants (72-69) for the last NL Wild Card berth while pulling even with the Padres (76-65) for the second spot.
“I’ve been there before,” Díaz said afterward. “In those situations, you either win the game or lose it. I chose to win.”
Though Díaz has handled countless pressure-packed innings, he had never before required an in-game wardrobe change. He wasn’t sure exactly when his spike broke, but said he felt unstable on the mound throughout an inning that began with a single and two walks, leaving the bases loaded with no outs. After fanning Noelvi Marte and working De La Cruz to a 1-2 count, Díaz finally called time for new shoes.
As umpire Nick Mahrley, catcher Francisco Álvarez, and Mets infielders stood around in disbelief, Díaz pulled off his cleats, laced up the replacements, and threw one warmup pitch — to a chorus of boos from Reds fans. In the dugout, manager Carlos Mendoza turned to third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh and admitted: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that.”
Díaz still had work to do. After striking out De La Cruz, he had to cover first base on Lux’s ground ball. Memories of last season’s late-September miscue against Atlanta — when he failed to cover in a costly blown save — spurred him to race over and beat Lux to the bag. Luisangel Acuña made the throw, Díaz caught it, stomped his new cleat on the base, pounded his chest, and let out a roar.
“That’s exactly who he is,” Mendoza said.
Earlier, the Mets had seemed in control after scoring five runs off Reds starter Andrew Abbott, highlighted by Mark Vientos’ RBI single and solo homer. But starter David Peterson faltered in the third and fourth, allowing Cincinnati to climb back. That forced the bullpen to shoulder the load, and Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley, and Tyler Rogers delivered eight steady outs before Díaz entered with the narrow lead.
Díaz left the field with a save, a new pair of shoes, and a wild story.
“He definitely made it interesting,” Stanek said with a grin. “But it was one hell of a Houdini act.”
For New York, the victory widened their Wild Card margin and dealt Cincinnati another setback. With 21 games remaining, the Mets now hold firm control of their postseason destiny.
“We know what’s at stake,” Peterson said. “But we’re just focused on taking it one game at a time. Tonight, we did that — and it was enough.”
