Buck Showalter, infamously known for leaving his star closer Zack Britton in the bullpen during the 2016 American League Wild Card Game as manager of the Orioles, was playing no games on Saturday when he called on Edwin Diaz in the seventh inning with the Mets leading by one.
But as New York staged a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh, a half inning that dragged on and took nearly 45 minutes, the Mets bullpen remained empty, and Diaz came back out for the eighth after sitting for an extended period of time and New York holding a cozy 7-2 lead.
Diaz, who threw 19 pitches in the seventh, had to knock off any rust and get right back to action, and many on MLB Twitter couldn't understand the decision to go back to Diaz, who would likely be needed again in a do-or-die game three the following night.
Diaz got two outs in the eighth and worked around a walk before he was relieved by Zack Britton, having thrown 28 pitches on the night with a long break in between.
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