The sound of Edwin Díaz’s signature trumpets signaled more than a dramatic entrance from the bullpen; they were the overture to a serialized adventure story, the theme song to a Mets career which, from its
first moment to its last, proved boundlessly entertaining and unpredictable. It began with one of the most instantly panned trades in Mets history, which saw Díaz and Robinson Canó acquired in exchange for a package of established veterans and young prospects headlined by Jared Kelenic. It got off to a disastrous start on the field, with Díaz recording a dismal 5.59 ERA during his first season as a Met. But gradually, Díaz shone as the dominant closer he was acquired to be, earning two National League Reliever of the Year Awards and becoming a fan-favorite fixture in Queens. During his final year in orange and blue, there was never a dull moment, with Díaz finding new ways to induce fan anxiety and unconventional solutions to mechanical issues amid yet another electric season before signing with the Dodgers in free agency.
In this edition of Tuesday Top Ten, we’ll honor Díaz’s adventurous Mets tenure by counting down the closer’s greatest saves, from no-hitters and postseason clinchers to six-out outings and miraculous escape acts. As with all editions, these rankings are arranged with consideration to statistical factors and circumstantial stakes, but are inherently and wholeheartedly subjective. This list isn’t meant to spark outrage or debate — though I suppose such a reaction would be a fitting tribute to the trade which brought Díaz to New York in the first place. So without further ado, let’s take a trip down memory lane and count down this Tuesday’s Top Ten…
10. The Closing Doors (July 26, 2022)
Asked to deliver a four-out save in the opening game of the Subway Series at Citi Field, Edwin Díaz provided a four-strikeout save, becoming just the second pitcher in Subway Series history to accomplish the rare feat along with Tom Gordon in 2004.
Despite his dominance when throwing the ball to the catcher, Díaz spiked a throw to second base while attempting to record a game-ending double play with one out in the ninth. The lead runner was Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, who had reached on a soft dribbler to third, meaning one of the slowest players in baseball had somehow advanced to second base without a ball leaving the infield. The mistake allowed the tying run to come to the plate in the form of Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres, but Díaz dispatched a 100-mph fastball to send Rizzo’s bat flailing helplessly up and away before wiping out Torres with a picture-perfect 93-mph slider. If that sounds like a striking combination of unorthodox shenanigans and utter dominance crammed into one outing, I advise you buckle up for the rest of this list. When it comes to Edwin Díaz saves, this is about as tame as it gets…
9. 30 for 39 (September 22, 2024)
During a high-octane Sunday Night Baseball showdown against the Phillies, the Mets called upon Edwin Díaz to secure a six-out save with no room for error. Protecting a 2-1 lead, Díaz had no fear, firing 25 fastballs out of his season-high 30 pitches thrown. Díaz was electric, striking out four Phillies including Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, but the operation nearly went haywire when speedster Bryson Stott attempted to steal third base with one out in the ninth. Catcher Francisco Alvarez’ throw skipped low, appearing for a moment to have cost the Mets the tying run, but the ball fortuitously hit the third base bag and skipped up for Mark Vientos to snag it and prevent catastrophe. As was typical for the 2024 Mets, that little bit of magic helped them finally earn the win when Díaz shoved a 98-mph fastball past the bat of Kody Clemens for the final out.
The memorable win marked the Mets’ final home game of the 2024 regular season. Though the team ended the night 2.0 games up for the final spot in the N.L. Wild Card race, the prospect of them making the playoffs, winning the Wild Card series, and returning to Citi Field for an NLDS game still seemed a fool’s hope. As it turned out, Díaz’s 30-pitch performance was a casual affair compared to an upcoming Citi Field save against Philadelphia with far higher stakes and a far higher placement on this list.
8. Bobble-Hand Night (July 2, 2019)
Pitching in his first Subway Series game, Edwin Díaz got a taste of the rivalry’s fiery — or, in this case, rainy — flair for the dramatic. The Mets led the Yankees 4-2 in Queens, and Díaz needed just one more out to secure a win for the Amazins. With Didi Gregorius at first base after reaching on an infield single and Brett Gardner at the plate as the tying run, Díaz and catcher Wilson Ramos were about to experience one of the most chaotic plate appearances of the season.
With a 2-0 count, Gregorius took off for second. He was seeking defensive indifference, but instead he received a bullet throw from Ramos, only barely brushing his hand on the second base bag in time. The Mets challenged the call on the field, but it stood as a stolen base. Three pitches later, after Gardner fouled off a slider to make the count full, the skies suddenly opened to douse the stadium in water. As the rain fell, Gardner fouled off two more pitches. Díaz went into his motion once again, delivering his ninth pitch to Gardner and his twenty-fifth of the inning: a 99-mph fastball which Gardner tipped straight back at Ramos. The ball bounced in and out of Ramos’ glove, off his bare hand, and back into his glove as he and Díaz fist-pumped in sync. A replay review, a downpour, and an unconventional “foul tip” later, Gardner had finally been retired. Put it in the books.
7. Angels In The Strikeout Column (June 12, 2022)
On the final day of a tiring, ten-game road trip, during which the Mets had lost three out of four for the first time all season, Edwin Díaz delivered one of his most electric performances in a Mets uniform. Entering in the bottom of the eighth with one on and one out, Díaz began by blowing three-time MVP Mike Trout away with a 100-mph fastball through the heart of the zone. Díaz surrendered a walk to Anthony Rendon, but proceeded to strike out the next four batters he faced, including former Met Juan Lagares, to seal the win.
Díaz’s five strikeouts in Anaheim matched a career-high, set back with the Mariners almost six years earlier to the date on June 14, 2016 in Tampa Bay. In 2016, Díaz had accomplished the feat in two and two thirds innings of work. In 2022, Díaz did it in just an inning and a third. Of the 28 pitches Díaz threw, not a single ball was put in play, and only four were fouled off. Díaz had set a new bar during what was already the best stretch of his career, allowing just one run in a span of 29 appearances.
6. Six-Out Save At Wrigley (September 23, 2025)
Sometimes, the term “save” feels a bit over-dramatic to characterize a closer’s contributions. Sealing a 5-2 win with the tying run at the plate? Capturing a tense 1-0 shutout with a clean inning of work? Don’t get me wrong, those are impressive — but do they really earn the word “save” in all its symbolic glory?
September 23, 2025 was not one of those times. The Mets were tied with the Reds for the final NL Wild Card spot with six games left to play, and the Cubs — despite having already clinched their playoff berth six days earlier — would not go gently into the Wrigley night. The teams traded blows, with the Cubs seizing an early five-run lead, the Mets mounting a miraculous comeback, and the Cubs tying it before Francisco Alvarez’s dramatic two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning gave the Mets a fragile 9-7 edge. With the top of the Cubs’ order due up, it seemed all but inevitable that their lethal lineup had more left in the tank. But on came Díaz, who took just twelve pitches to push through a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two punch outs before striking out the side in the ninth. Setting aside the save’s climactic circumstances (which absolutely earned the full weight of the stat’s title), Díaz’s final line was a thing of beauty. To earn a save with at least five strikeouts and no baserunners allowed is something which only six pitchers in Mets history have accomplished, and which only twelve pitchers in all of baseball have done since 2000. On paper, it was perhaps Diaz’s most impressive save in a Mets uniform; little did we know, it was his second-to-last.
5. Shoe’s On First? (September 5, 2025)
The most unfathomable save I have ever seen. A hero’s journey in three outs. The feeling of a slow-motion car crash, an open-heart surgery, and a full recovery rolled into sixteen minutes of baseball. With the Mets up 5-4 in Cincinnati, Edwin Díaz was brought on for a standard, one-inning outing. He kicked things off by giving up a base hit up the middle and walking two straight batters on a string of pitches which landed anywhere but the location of Francisco Alvarez’s target. Díaz got ahead on Noelvi Marte 0-2 before throwing three straight balls, putting him one more misfire away from a tie game, but he somehow got Marte to chase on a slider for the first out. Then, with a 1-2 count on the fearsome Elly De La Cruz, Díaz called to the Mets dugout for a replacement pair of cleats, changing shoes in the middle of the field in the middle of a game-altering at-bat in the middle of a playoff race. After a more than two-minute delay, Díaz struck out De La Cruz. Facing Gavin Lux next, Díaz surrendered a line drive hit barely foul down the right field line and nearly threw a wild pitch, but finally induced a hard-hit ground ball to the right side. Luisangel Acuña made a sensational sliding grab and fired the ball to a roving Díaz, whose new cleat graced the first base bag to seal the Reds’ fate.
It wasn’t just a pivotal win for the Mets, and an unforgettable one at that; one could argue it was the ultimate Edwin Díaz moment, a microcosm of his seven-year career in New York. It began in chaos, seemingly destined for disaster — but with the help of electric stuff, unexpected moments of levity, and a remarkable ability to persevere through adversity, it earned a special place in Mets history.
4. feat. Timmy Trumpet (August 31, 2022)
In 2022, Edwin Díaz pitched to a 1.31 ERA, struck out 118 batters in 62.0 IP, recorded 32 saves, and won the NL Reliever of the Year Award. But those things are for nerds to enjoy. You know what’s cooler than stats and awards? You know what really means you’ve hit the big time? Having your entrance song played live.
Díaz might be the only player in baseball history to have received that particular honor. On this eventful summer night, two innings after Brandon Nimmo made the catch of his career to rob Justin Turner of a home run, Díaz entered the game to a live rendition of Narco with Timmy Trumpet playing his eponymous instrument near the third-base dugout. Díaz had a breezy 1-2-3 inning, needing just nine pitches (eight of them sliders, a pitch mix perhaps more appropriate for a trombone performance) to retire the heart of the Dodgers’ order and secure the save. Hollywood loves a good spectacle, and that night the Mets gave L.A. a taste of their own medicine; but perhaps it was that moment when the Dodgers knew they would one day try to bring Díaz’s talents to the West Coast.
3. Whiffs and GIFs (August 7, 2022)
This afternoon series finale with the Braves began as Jacob deGrom’s return after a thirteen-month absence from the Citi Field mound, and ended by yielding a historic team accomplishment (plus a viral social media moment). As usual, deGrom was dominant, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Dansby Swanson drilled a two-run home run to right-center field. Joely Rodriguez picked up where deGrom left off, tossing two and a third scoreless innings before Edwin Díaz, who had already earned two saves in the past three days against Atlanta, struck out the side on fourteen pitches.
Just how good were the Mets’ arms that afternoon? 34.2% of their pitches resulted in a swing and miss — the highest percentage for a team in any game during the Statcast era (since 2015) — with Díaz accounting for six of the 41 whiffs. Their 19 strikeouts also tied a franchise record for the most in a nine-inning game, a mark which was soon overtaken weeks later during another deGrom start against the Pirates. But none of those stats were circulated nearly as much as the sixty second clip of Díaz trotting in from the bullpen to the sound of his trademark trumpets. SNY Director John DeMarsico has provided many iconic depictions of Díaz’s entrance, but this was the first to truly go viral, paving the way for Timmy Trumpet’s appearance in person at Citi Field a month later.
2. No-No No. 2 (April 29, 2022)
After going 50 seasons without a no-hitter, the Mets finally mustered two in the span of eleven years. The first was the result of a heroic 144-pitch effort from two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, who put the exclamation mark on his phenomenal career with the performance. The second belonged to a smattering of five different pitchers: Tylor Megill, who pulled most of the most weight by turning in five hitless innings before being pulled at 88 pitches; Drew Smith, who struck out four of five batters faced; Joely Rodriguez, who induced two ground balls while allowing two walks; Seth Lugo, who finished off the eighth inning while keeping the bid intact; and Edwin Díaz, who was brought on to slam the door.
Standing between the Mets and their second no-hitter in franchise history were three of the Phillies’ most frightening bats: Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto. But Díaz diced them all with ease, needing only thirteen pitches to strike out the side swinging on a trio of near-identical sliders. Díaz threw just two balls, one of which just barely missed the plate and one of which was a slider with so much movement that it skipped through catcher James McCann. No single pitcher’s contributions to the combined no-hitter came close to matching the magnitude of Santana’s efforts, but if there’s one man whose performance will likely forever be linked with that magical April night, it’s Díaz. The stellar performance marked the first of six appearances that season where Díaz would strike out every batter faced in a save situation (min. 1 IP), a mark that has only been reached three other times in baseball history: Craig Kimbrel did it six times in 2012, Aroldis Chapman did it six times in 2014, and Díaz himself did it a whopping nine times in 2018 with the Mariners.
1. Citi’s First Clincher (October 9, 2024)
NLDS Game 4. Top of the ninth inning. Mets leading the Phillies 4-1. Edwin Díaz entering with a chance to give Citi Field its first-ever clinching celebration. If you’ve read through this whole list…do I even have to tell you how it started? He walked the first two batters on ten pitches, immediately sending the tying run to the plate and sending Citi Field into a state of anxious tension.
But after a mound visit from pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, perhaps the unsung hero of Díaz’s Mets tenure, he fanned Kody Clemens swinging on a fastball through the heart of the zone (just as he had done weeks earlier during entry No. 9 on this list) and retired Brandon Marsh on a weak fly ball to center field. The final boss was Kyle Schwarber. With a 1-2 count, Díaz unleashed his full power, zipping a 101.1-mph fastball past Schwarber to send the stadium erupting. It’s the fastest pitch Díaz has thrown in the majors since 2022, confirming what those of us who watched Díaz work day in and day out as a Met already knew: he knows how to reach back for just a little bit extra when it matters most — whether pushed to the brink with runners on, playing in a game with massive ramifications, or doing both at the same time.
It’s fitting that Schwarber was the final out, as Díaz has always proven to be the slugger’s kryptonite. Including the 2024 playoffs, Schwarber’s career record against Díaz is currently 0-for-12 with 10 strikeouts. It’s also fitting that the biggest moment of Díaz’s Mets career came against the Phillies, the division rival which Díaz tended to dominate even more than others. Since arriving in New York in 2019, Díaz has struck out 78 Philadelphia batters, by far the most for any relief pitcher in baseball against a single team during that span. Who, you ask, is second on that list? Devin Williams, the Mets’ new closer, who has struck out 64 batters on the Cincinnati Reds…the team that beat the Mets by one head-to-head game to earn a 2025 playoff berth.
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