Mets’ Jake Diekman put struggles aside to meet daunting Aaron Judge challenge

The Mets were doing their level best to be considerate guests Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. They left half of Rego Park on base across nine innings. They made some odd choices on the base paths, which is really the kindest word possible to describe those misadventures. They weren’t exactly auditioning for the Gold Glove voters on the other side of the ball.

They may have even brought over a case of beer and some appetizers. Damn good neighbors, the Mets.

And now the bullpen gate swung open at Yankee Stadium and here came the ultimate hostess gift: It wasn’t Edwin Diaz trotting in for the ninth inning, down after a 28-pitch outing Monday, working three times in four days. It was Jake Diekman. There were 47,453 people inside Yankee Stadium, and when the SNY and YES cameras scanned the crowd it sure looked like everyone in the house wearing Mets gear was covering their eyes at the same time. And everyone wearing pinstripes was smiling ear to ear.

Diekman has scuffled this year. As he took his warm-up pitches, the ERA was 5.28, the WHIP 1.448, 23 walks to go with his 34 strikeouts. Those numbers for a relief pitcher are kerosene. And now he would have to face to 1, 2 and 3 batters in the Yankees lineup, 2 and 3 being Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, who entered the game with a combined OPS of 2.140.

Diekman was in a pretty bad fix.

And the Mets were right there with him.

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“He’s done it before,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza would reason later. “He’s been in the league a long time and he’s had struggles before, and figured it out before, and gotten out of it.”

The Mets led, 3-2. Most of the news from the out-of-town scoreboard was unfavorable. Their toes rested on the razor-thin border between terrific win and horrific loss.

Trent Grisham clobbered a 2-and-2 pitch, but sent it to the deepest part of the park. Harrison Bader caught up to it 400 feet away. The Yankees fans gasped. The Mets fans grimaced. One out.

“I’m trying to get to 0-and-1, get in good pitchers counts and then maybe throw some stuff off the plate and maybe they chase,” Diekman would say later.

But Soto doesn’t chase. Diekman threw four pitches off the plate, a few of which that lesser hitters in a big spot might’ve taken a hack at. Soto spit on all of them. He walked to first with the tying run.

And Aaron Judge stepped up with the winning run. Yankees fans jumped to their feet. Mets fans tried to see if they could crouch under their seats.

“I was going to let it play out,” Mendoza said.

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The Mets had walked Judge four times already, once intentionally in the seventh inning. This is a strategy that most teams might want to investigate, especially with the Yankees’ batting order presently looking like open-mic-night tryouts. And had Mendoza chosen to wiggle four fingers here, it would’ve been tough to argue, even shoving the tying run to second, even putting the winning run on base.

Diekman threw the first one 96 mph. It was middle-middle. Judge looked like the most surprised person in the park that he’d just seen a strike.

Diekman: “I have to try to get them to get themselves out. I didn’t do the greatest job of that with Soto. Now I had to make my pitches.”

He got ahead 1-and-2 when Judge fouled one off, crowded him inside for ball two.

“If I can execute my heater, I feel pretty good,” Diekman said. “I didn’t want to throw it away.”

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Not with the short porch behind him. So Diekman threw the heater inside. It had plenty of plate. It froze Judge. Strike three. Mets fans exhaled. Yankees fans sighed. Two outs.

“What a big spot for him there,” Mendoza said.

Ben Rice now. If Rice has shown one strength so far, it’s an ability to turn on fastballs. But Diekman was pitching with confidence now. He got ahead 0-and-2 with two four-seamers. Rice got back into the count at 2-and-2. Once more, Diekman reached for the gas. Ninety-five this time. Rice grounded it to second, to Jeff McNeil, the hitting star of the night.

Mets fans rejoiced.

Yankees fans sprinted for the Deegan.

“He’s been in this league for a long time for a reason,” Mendoza said.

“You give what you can when you’re asked,” Diekman said. “Then try to do it again the next day.”

The Mets tried to be generous. Truly they did. Until Diekman came in, stared down the Yankees and declared: No soup for you.

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