Everything's clicking for the Mets. Edwin Díaz knows exactly why

Everything appears to be clicking at the right time for the Mets, on the field and in a close-knit clubhouse, which isn't much of a shock to star closer Edwin Díaz. The chemistry they've built through the highs and lows of this 2024 season has sustained them as they stare down the final stretch toward a potential postseason run.

"We are like family inside the clubhouse," Díaz said in an MLB Network radio interview on Sirius XM. "So that's something we built, because to have a championship team you have to have a really good clubhouse. And I think we have it."

Although MVP candidate Francisco Lindor -- whose clutch ninth-inning home run on Wednesday afternoon against Toronto broke up a no-hitter, tied the game and sparked a six-run frame all with one swing -- is an obvious leader of this group, Díaz credited another veteran player with helping to right the ship after some early struggles.

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"When [Jose] Iglesias came, it was good. He's a great person, he's been in the league for a long time and he knows how to play the game," Díaz said. "He always plays hard, he goes out and competes every single day."

Iglesias made his debut for the Mets on May 31, when the club was floundering with a 23-33 record thanks in large part to a 9-19 mark in May. The Mets won that May 31 game, 10-9 over the D-backs, and then the clouds started to part.

"We were having a tough time in May to win games, but it was just a bad month," Díaz said. "That's how we took it. We just turned the page after that month was over and we started playing baseball again."

Since that May 31 victory, the Mets have gone 57-33. That's the type of team Díaz and the rest of the guys in the clubhouse always felt they had.

"We talked, we said we are a really good team here and we can do something special," he said.

Now comes the hard part, with the Mets holding a slim one-game advantage over the Braves for the final Wild Card spot and a gauntlet ahead of them. They play the NL East-leading Phillies seven more times and have a three-game series in Atlanta lined up for Sept. 24-26, which could potentially make or break their chances. But as Díaz knows and as teams like the 2023 D-backs have proven, all it takes is getting in.

"We have played hard every single day. So our goal is make the playoffs, and then when we make the playoffs, try to win everything," Díaz said. "That's what we are doing right now. We are winning games and trying to stay in the run."

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