Ever since Miguel Castro threw a fat changeup down the middle to Garrett Cooper which turned into a game tying two run home run in the 7th inning on Friday, I thought that this would be it. The magical run was going to run right smack dab into the Mets’ habit of giving up heartbreaking walk-off victories to the Marlins which would result in the greatest Marlins’ victory of all time being the seventh part of Derek Jeter’s six part ESPN documentary.

After all, how much could this team take? They started the day by putting Pete Alonso on the IL after a day off turned into a sore wrist. They also put Tommy Hunter on the IL with a severe case of happiness. Like, seriously … all the guy did was be happy and you had to take him too? How the hell do we still exist? The Mets had Brandon Drury playing first base. For crissakes the Mets got Brandon Drury in July and I had no idea he was a Met until 16 players went on the injured list.

So in the 8th when Tim “Angel” Timmons was turning the strike zone into a moving target and Trevor May walked two to load the bases, I thought reality would smack us in the face. But May not only struck out Cooper to end the threat, but he also sounded a barbaric yawp as he left the mound. (For those who thought May was just a youtuber trying to play baseball like Jake Paul, May is actually a pretty good baseball player, kids.) Then in the 9th, after Jeury Familia put the first two runners on, I thought the light at the end of the tunnel was an oncoming train. Okay, here is when the Marlins walk us off. But Familia got the next three on a Jesus Aguilar infield pop up, a Jazz Chisholm lineout, and a strikeout of Miguel Rojas.

Certainly in the 10th, after a passed ball sent the ghost runner to third base with one out, yeah … this is going to be the one that gets us. But Edwin Diaz struck out Adam Duvall and Brian Anderson. Now this game is becoming the kid that says he’s going to give you a free shot but you’re not going to know when it’s coming, and it’s like “JUST PUNCH ME ALREADY!!!” The punch was certainly going to come in the form of ghost runner Jonathan Villar getting picked off third base in the top of the 11th after a Francisco Lindor single. After Cameron Maybin and Dom Smith meekly ended the inning, you just knew that this would be the beginning of the end. Here it comes …

May 21, 2021; Miami, Florida, USA; New York Mets left fielder Johneshwy Fargas (81) reacts after getting tagged out at home plate against the Miami Marlins during the twelfth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

To continue reading click here.