MIAMI — The Mets have one giant Edwin Diaz headache.
Never mind that the All-Star closer isn’t anything close to peak 2022 form, he’s suddenly become a liability whose trustworthiness to finish games is questionable.
After blowing consecutive save opportunities against the Phillies this week, the right-hander was given a non-save situation Saturday and proceeded to allow four runs that tied the game before Otto Lopez’s RBI single against Jorge Lopez in the 10th inning buried the Mets in their 10-9 loss to the Marlins at LoanDepot Park.
Josh Bell’s three-run homer to center field on a Diaz slider tied it 9-9 after the Marlins had scored earlier in the inning on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s RBI single.
Diaz, who got only one out in the inning and allowed four runs on four hits, owns a 5.50 ERA in 18 appearances this season after missing last year to rehab from surgery for a torn patellar tendon in his right knee.
The Mets lost their second straight game to a team that owns MLB’s worst record.
The two principals in the Mets’ lineup switch were relatively quiet on this day, but the rest of the gang, including the team’s slumping second baseman, had a productive day.
On a day Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo flip-flopped in the batting order, maybe the most notable performance came from Jeff McNeil, who delivered a rare multiple-hit game and even stole a base for the Mets.
McNeil, stuck in a slump that had pushed his OPS to .614, reached base three times and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs as part of the team’s 15-hit attack.
Every Mets starter had at least one hit except Lindor (0-for-5), who moved to the leadoff spot with Nimmo shifted to third.
McNeil was 3-for-26 (.115) over his previous eight games.
On this day he contributed to scoring rallies in the fourth and fifth innings.
Luis Severino pitched into the seventh inning, getting two outs in that final frame before Reed Garrett replaced him.
Severino allowed five runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts on a day he displayed some of his best heat this season, averaging 96.6 mph with his four-seam fastball.
Unveiling the new batting order that featured Lindor at leadoff and Nimmo, at third, the Mets jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against left-hander Braxton Garrett.
Lindor was hit by a pitch and Pete Alonso singled to begin the rally.
After Nimmo grounded into a fielder’s choice, J.D. Martinez delivered an RBI single for the game’s first run.
Mark Vientos’ ensuing single brought in another run.
Nick Gordon’s RBI double in the second pulled the Marlins within 2-1.
Jesus Sanchez drew a leadoff walk before Gordon hit a shot into the left-center gap to bring in the run.
The Marlins tied it 2-2 in the third on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s homer with one out.
The blast was the fourth allowed by Severino this season.
McNeil singled and stole third base in the fourth — with Tomas Nido’s infield single sandwiched in between — before Lindor’s RBI fielder’s choice gave the Mets a 3-2 lead.
The stolen base gave McNeil a stretch of 20 straight steals without getting thrown out.
Harrison Bader stroked a two-run single in the fifth, after the Mets had loaded the bases with one out, to go ahead 5-2.
Nimmo began the rally by getting plunked (the Mets’ batter hit by a pitch in the game) before Vientos walked and Starling Marte singled.
After Bader delivered, McNeil and Nido singled in succession. McNeil’s hit brought in two runs to give the Mets a 7-2 lead.
The Marlins chased Severino in the seventh on Lopez’s RBI double and Chisholm’s run-scoring single.
Garrett entered and surrendered two hits, including an RBI single by Bell that sliced the Mets’ lead to 7-5.