NEW YORK — The box score won’t show all of it, but catcher Luis Torrens played a key part in the Mets’ win on Sunday.
It still might not be enough to save his full-time job.
With the game tied at two in the eighth inning and right fielder Juan Soto on third, Torrens lined a 102.7 mph one-hopper that was picked by the second baseman.
Breaking for home on contact, Soto slid headfirst, beating the tag to put the Mets ahead 3-2, the score of the win against the Reds. But it wasn’t just Torrens’ bat that helped the Mets.
In the top of the eighth inning, he prevented a bad Edwin Díaz outing from being worse.
Entering in relief of right-hander Reed Garrett with a chance for a four-out save, Díaz proceeded to load the bases before allowing the tying run to score on a hit-by-pitch.
Seeing that his reliever was erratic, Torrens decided it was time for a mound visit.
“I think that was that was just a good moment, just to calm everything down,” Torrens said after the game.
Torrens’ visit did the trick.
Díaz struck out the next batter to work out of trouble, leaving the bases loaded.
“For Luis to just recognize the moment and where Diaz was at, to go out there and kind of like, just take a step back, slow it down, one pitch at a time,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I thought it was a key moment there, too.”
In the seventh inning, Torrens made up for a blunder that caused a run to score in Saturday’s 5-2 loss, when he threw a ball away attempting to nab a runner on first.
With the Mets leading 2-1, Marte nabbed Reds infielder Noelvi Marte trying to steal second.
This season, Torrens leads all MLB catchers (minimum 450 innings) with a 77.8% caught stealing percentage. The next best catchers —Patrick Bailey (San Francisco Giants), Dillon Dingler (Detroit Tigers), and Carson Kelley (Chicago Cubs) — are tied with a 50% caught stealing percentage.
“When you help the team, you always feel good and special,” Torrens said, this time in English.
After the game, reports emerged that the Mets would recall catcher Francisco Alvarez from Triple A after 21 games in which he hit 11 home runs. In that time period, Torrens has received the bulk of the starts, but he’s struggled at the plate, batting .197 with a .508 OPS, one home run and three RBIs in 65 plate appearances.
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Manny Gómez may be reached at [email protected].
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