Elias Díaz’s throw in the fourth inning traveled from Globe Life Field’s plate to Corey Seager’s glove, and with it went the Mets’ last out of the inning. It was a tidy piece of catching: Marcus Semien walked, tried to steal second, and Díaz threw him out.
The Rangers’ catcher did not need a hit to put his mark on Thursday’s 3-1 victory over New York.
Díaz went 0-for-3, yet helped end two Mets innings while Texas was protecting a one-run lead. The throw was followed an inning later by a successful pitch challenge. Neither contribution appears in his batting average, and both spared Rocker an additional confrontation.
Semien’s walk had interrupted Rocker’s progress toward a scoreless fourth. Carson Benge lined out to Josh Jung, Brett Baty grounded out, and then Semien drew a two-out walk from Kumar Rocker. On the next plate appearance, Semien was caught stealing second, Díaz to Seager.
That was the third out. A walk had opened a possibility for New York; the throw closed it without requiring Rocker to retire another hitter.
Still, the out mattered. Texas led 2-1 at the time, a narrow margin built on Josh Jung’s first-inning two-run homer. New York had already scored in the opening inning when Benge singled home Francisco Lindor, who had doubled. A walk followed by a successful steal could have prolonged the fourth inning, but Díaz’s throw ended the threat immediately.
Díaz intervened again with two outs in the fifth. A.J. Ewing grounded out to Seager, Luis Torrens grounded out to Seager, and Morabito then came to the plate with two outs and nobody on. The pitch result on Morabito’s plate appearance was challenged by Díaz and overturned, with Morabito called out on strikes. That decision supplied the inning’s final out.
It was not the same kind of intervention as the throw. Díaz did not throw out a runner or record the strikeout himself. But his successful challenge changed the ruling and ended the plate appearance, allowing Texas to carry its 2-1 lead into the sixth.
Morabito had doubled in his previous trip, when Rocker needed a strikeout and double play to escape. This time the challenge completed a perfect inning, with no runner to worry about.
The fair appraisal has to include Díaz’s bat. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, grounding out in the second, striking out in the fifth after a Mets challenge overturned the call during his own plate appearance, and grounding out again in the seventh. There was no offensive production to soften the line.
