Buck Showalter learned his lesson from the 2016 ALWC decision

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town is the longest song in the Pearl Jam catalog. Game 2 between the New York Mets and San Diego Padres is the longest 9-inning game in the former’s playoff history.

I seem to recognize our ace. Jacob deGrom wasn’t the greatest but it was more than enough to help the Mets secure the win. Some early home runs followed by 4 big ones in the seventh helped give the Mets a 7-2 lead as Buck Showalter managed his bullpen in the way we didn’t think would happen.

Handing the ball from deGrom to Edwin Diaz is perfectly. However, doing so as early as the seventh inning is a little bit puzzling.

Mets manager Buck Showalter wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice

The one moment that unfortunately may define Showalter’s managerial career in the postseason is when he had Zack Britton, once known as Zach Britton, waiting in the Baltimore Orioles bullpen. This was in the 2016 American League Wild Card game occurring opposite of the Mets loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Showalter learned his lesson in the fall out from that decision to not turn to his stud closer. He called upon Diaz as early as possible in Game 2 of the series.

Because it did work, we’re not waking up on the day of Game 3 questioning the decision. The Mets offense was able to extend the lead further and the troubles Adam Ottavino ran into later aren’t an issue. It’s all about how you end with just a dash of how you got there.

Diaz didn’t get the Holy Grail 9-out save which according to MLB rules would qualify as one regardless of the score. In fact, he says he should be available on Sunday.

The star Mets closer racked up 28 pitches. While he is available to go again in Game 3, we’ll hope he doesn’t have to. If he does, how early in the game will it be?