Mets' confidence booming with MLB's best bullpen: ‘It's contagious'
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Here is how the Mets' bullpen beat the Phillies:
Monday: an escape from Reed Garrett, length from Max Kranick, an exhale from Edwin Díaz;
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Tuesday: shutdown innings from Huascar Brazobán, A.J. Minter, Ryne Stanek and José Buttó;
Wednesday: solid work from Brazobán, lefty-on-lefty excellence from Danny Young, a Buttó survival, a Díaz concern and Kranick guts.
Eight different relievers combined to allow a total of four earned runs — three of which came on a homer Diaz served up — and each fulfilled a role.
The Mets' bullpen has been its greatest strength through this 18-7 season-opening sprint, and not because a few dominant relievers have been leaned on heavily. The same exact group that broke camp with the team remains and has thrived in part because of its depth.
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3 Reed Garrett celebrates after the sixth inning during the Mets' win over the Phillies on April 21, 2025.
Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
'The eight of them are getting huge outs for us,' manager Carlos Mendoza said after finishing off the sweep Wednesday at Citi Field. 'They know, they understand, when we call their names it's because we feel good about their chances of getting three outs. It doesn't matter whether we're up one in the seventh or in the ninth or whether we're down three — their job is to come in and attack and get the three outs we're asking them to do.
'I've been saying it: It's contagious.'
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The bug has spread throughout a group that entered Thursday's off day as the most valuable bullpen in the majors, according to FanGraphs; that owned a 2.35 ERA that was second-best; that had eaten 95 ⅔ innings, the fourth-most; that had given up just four home runs, the least in MLB; that owned a third-best 1.03 WHIP and held opposing batters to a .192 average that was the sixth lowest.
There eventually will be turnover — Dedniel Núñez, for one, is looming at Triple-A Syracuse — but there has been stability because each arm has produced and the workload has been distributed well.
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Entering Thursday, the Mets had used a pitcher on consecutive days nine times this season, tied for the second-least in the majors (before only the Yankees' eight). The Mets have not had to push their arms into many uncomfortable situations — and when those few situations have arisen, the arms have responded.
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The Phillies provided several tests. On Monday, Garrett entered the sixth inning with Bryce Harper on first base and ensured Harper was stranded. After the inning-ending strikeout of J.T. Realmuto, Garrett became the only pitcher in the majors to inherit nine runners and not allow any to score.
'If we're in a sticky situation,' Pete Alonso said of the relievers, 'they're doing their jobs.'
3 Max Kranick throws in the seventh inning of the Mets' win over the Phillies on April 21, 2025.
Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Later in the game, Mendoza asked Kranick — excellent in the early going as a multi-inning weapon — for a third inning of work, which resulted in three straight hits and Díaz emerging to both scare (allowing a Bryson Stott homer) and escape (two straight strikeouts to end it).
Tuesday, Mendoza turned to typical-length-option Brazobán (1.17 ERA) for a single frame, used Minter (1.74 ERA) for the pocket of the lineup featuring Bryce Harper, turned to Stanek (0.96 ERA) to get the heart of the order and, with the lead padded, trusted Buttó (2.51 ERA) to get the last three outs.
Wednesday could have been the breaking point because Mendoza wanted to stay away from Kranick, Garrett and Minter. Brazobán and Buttó worked on consecutive days, and Young turned in the best performance of his season by forcing Harper to chase for a strikeout and entering the strike zone against Kyle Schwarber, who stared at strike three.
'He got the job done,' Mendoza said of Young, who has been a relative weak spot but whose sweeper in particular has been untouchable.
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3 Danny Young throws a pitch in the seventh inning during the Mets' win over the Cardinals on April 20, 2025.
Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Díaz pitched a perfect ninth and returned for the 10th.
He lasted six pitches before what was believed to be a hip cramp forced him out, and Mendoza had no choice but to turn to a pitcher who burned 36 pitches two days prior.
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Kranick probably needed more time to warm up, quickly walking Realmuto, but navigated out of a bases-loaded jam by inducing two fly outs.
'When somebody gets hurt, you got to warm up on the mound — I think that's the toughest thing to do as a reliever,' Díaz said.
'Today was definitely a little bit different,' Kranick said after completing that tough job for a Mets bullpen that has been the strongest unit on what has been baseball's best team thus far.
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