Another day, another back-breaking loss for the Mets.
And Edwin Diaz was once again largely responsible for it.
The closer — just put back in the role by Carlos Mendoza on Saturday — blew a save in the bottom of the ninth and the Mets went on to lose their fifth straight game, this one 7-2 in 10 innings to the Giants.
Before Sean Reid-Foley gave up the go-ahead hit to Brett Wisely in the 10th and the Mets then stumbled their way through the rest of the inning, Diaz had again failed to close the door on a potential win.
The Mets were just two outs away from victory when Diaz allowed a game-tying RBI single to Heliot Ramos that scored pinch-runner Ryan McKenna from second.
But Ramos was thrown out at second by right fielder Starling Marte and Diaz got out of the inning.
The Mets had a chance to win it in the bottom of the inning, with a leadoff walk by Brett Baty, who had a go-ahead homer in the seventh.
Tomas Nido followed with a routine grounder to second, but Thairo Estrada and shortstop Marco Luciano fumbled the exchange at second for an error.
Baty got to third on a Francisco Lindor forceout, but Pete Alonso flied to left to end the inning.
The Mets have now lost seven of eight and are a season-worst nine games under .500.
It wasted an outstanding start by Luis Severino, who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and gave up just one run over seven innings, as he outdueled Jordan Hicks.
But it wasn’t enough for Diaz to finish off.
Prior to the game, Mendoza said of Diaz, “He’s our closer. I thought [Friday] was a good step in the right direction. It comes down to trusting himself. If it’s the ninth inning and he’s there, he’ll get the opportunity.”
It didn’t work out.
Marte gave the Mets a 1-0 lead with his sixth homer of the season with one out in the second.
Severino retired the first 12 batters he faced before Matt Chapman walked to start the fifth.
And San Francisco didn’t get its first hit until Wisely, the No. 9 hitter, singled to left — just over the leaping attempt by Baty at third.
Severino followed by walking Luis Matos.
After Estrada grounded into a force out that sent Wisely to third, a Patrick Bailey RBI single tied the game at 1-1.
But that was all the right-hander, who had been shaky in his previous three starts, would allow Saturday.
He issued a two-out walk to Ramos in the seventh and while Mendoza then went to the mound, the manager opted to keep Severino in and he rewarded Mendoza’s faith by getting Curt Casali to pop out to end the inning on Severino’s 103rd pitch, his highest total of the season.
Baty had been out of the lineup since Monday — as the Mets went with the hot-hitting Mark Vientos — but Mendoza said he wanted to see Baty’s left-handed bat against the right-hander Hicks.
Baty entered in a 3-for-33 rut with 15 strikeouts and whiffed in his first two at-bats against Hicks.
But facing right-hander Sean Hjelle with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Baty hit just his fourth homer of the season.
“We’re trying to get Baty going,’’ Mendoza said before the game.
Mendoza indicated Baty would be in the lineup again Sunday, with the Giants starting another right-hander, Logan Webb, but the manager made it clear Friday that they would not keep Baty and Vientos on the roster indefinitely, so a decision will come soon.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]