Soto, Diaz, and Harrison Friedland bring home series victory in Kansas City

Mets 3 Royals 1 (Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO)

Mets record: 55-41

Mets streak: Won 2

WP - Frankie Montas (2-1)

LP - Jonathan Bowlan (1-2)

SV - Edwin Diaz (19)

Seat on the Korner:

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

Carlos Mendoza went all in for the victory today with Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea tag teaming tomorrow. Edwin Diaz was called upon for a six out save with a razor thing 2-1 lead, and he got it ... clinching a series win for the Mets before the All Star break.

Need to Know

• The Mets' win puts them in a virtual tie for first place in the N.L. East, pending the outcome of tonight's Phillies contest in San Diego.

• The Mets are now 7-3 in their last 10 games.

• Juan Soto's two run HR in the 4th was all the Mets needed in the game. It was his second home run in the last two games, his 9th home run in his last 20 games, and 23rd overall. It's the most home runs he has ever hit through his first 96 games of the season.

• Francisco Lindor's stolen base in the 4th was his 200 career stolen base.

• Frankie Montas went 5+ innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks while striking out five.

• Reed Garrett's scoreless 6th inning was his 4th straight scoreless outing.

• Edwin Diaz's save was his 19th in 20 opportunities.

Turning Point

For today's turning point, we first flash back to last night, where Tyler Tolbert was caught stealing for the first time this season, and it was on a call that was reversed because he was off the bag for a split second while he hovered over it.

He had the bag stolen, but because he couldn't stay on the bag, he was called out. It would have been a bigger play in last night's game had a million runs not been scored after that.

Now we come to today. Edwin Diaz on the bump in the 8th, Bobby Witt Jr. on first with the tying run. He takes off ...

Look familiar?

A separate conversation can be had about whether the best use of instant replay. But that's of no concern to replay coordinator Harrison Friedland. It was a big play in Edwin Diaz's inning, and a big play to get the Mets to the 9th, where they were able to get a big insurance run to squeak out a victory.

Three Keys

Drink From The Fountain

Juan Soto has been scorching since June 1st, slashing .323/.472./.669 since then coming into today's game. (Apparently those aren't numbers worthy of an All Star bid, but that's another story for another time.) He went 1-for-4 today with his one hit being a ball he drenched in cool fountain water.

Getting thigh high sliders like that helps. I didn't know a barbecue town produced such tasty meatballs.

"Don't throw me that, Sally."

Reed Walks The Tightrope

Edwin Diaz was the star for me out of the pen. But let's not forget the others. Frankie Montas came through with a strong five inning outing, only giving up a run. Chris Devenski worked around a walk and got some good defensive help behind him to escape that inning. Reed Garrett's 6th inning was an unheralded gem.

After Montas gave up a run on back to back doubles, Garrett game in and promptly sent Jonathan India to third by throwing a pick off attempt right off India's hand (the same hand that was stepped on Friday night.) But after that, Garrett walked the tightrope to not let India score.

F-4, 3-U, and F-9 against 2-3-4 in the Royals order is quite impressive. Hopefully the Mets can ride Garrett's high crest for a while.

The Other Third ...

For our younger readers, there was a famous quote about former Phillies center fielder Garry Maddox: "Two thirds of the earth is covered by water. The other third is covered by Garry Maddox."

You might be able to say the same about Tyrone Taylor these days. In the 7th with a runner on first and nobody out, Taylor made a nice running catch at the wall. Then in the 9th, Maikel Garcia made a bid to lead off the inning with an extra base hit. But Taylor covered that part of the earth as well.