Mets' Reed Garrett has much-needed bounce-back outing vs. Yankees

Reed Garrett's six-out save helped lift the Mets to their third straight win.

Jul 4, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher Luis Torrens (13) and relief pitcher Reed Garrett (75) celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees 6-5 at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

On a day when the New York Mets didn't have some of their better relievers available, the ballclub saw struggling reliever Reed Garrett bounce back in a huge way against the New York Yankees.

The Mets took Game 1 of the Citi Field portion of the Subway Series against the Yankees on Friday, winning 6-5 for their third straight victory; the win pulled them within half a game of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. However, this win for the Amazins' wasn't easy, as they entered this game unsure of how they were going to pitch against this potent Yankees lineup amid all of the injuries the pitching staff has suffered.

After Justin Hagenman pitched the first 4.1 innings for the Mets, followed by the recently recalled Austin Warren getting five outs and Huascar Brazoban pitching a scoreless seventh, the Mets were left to turn things over to Garrett.

Entering Friday, the usually reliable Garrett has been anything but reliable. Over his last seven outings, the righty hurler has posted an alarming 12.79 ERA in just 6.1 innings. This included giving up a grand slam to Joey Ortiz on Wednesday, which was the difference in the first game of New York's doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers.

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But after using Ryne Stanek and Edwin Díaz for three straight games, manager Carlos Mendoza handed the ball off to Garrett with the hopes of holding on to the Mets' slim one-run lead. After pitching a scoreless eighth inning, Garrett came back out, looking to close the door and did just that, pitching a one-two-three ninth inning to secure his third save of the season and lifting the Mets to a victory over their cross-town rivals.

Reed Garrett finished the job for the Mets today 😤 pic.twitter.com/QhrjsyMNCZ

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 4, 2025

After Friday's game, Garrett met with reporters af and spoke about the conversation he had with Mendoza that resulted in the right-hander finishing the game for the Mets.

"I was trying to walk away so he couldn't take me out of the game," Garrett said. "He kept telling me, 'Hey, go out there, take a pitch at a time, take a batter at a time, execute your pitches and just go right after them'. That's what I did."

Reed Garrett talks about his conversation with Carlos Mendoza after the 8th inning:

"I was trying to walk away so he couldn't take me out of the game" 😂 pic.twitter.com/iHROUoUrX7

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

Mendoza admitted after the game that he had not planned for Garrett to go two innings, given his struggles. But after having a conversation with his reliever, as Garrett alluded to, Mendoza seemed confident in the righty's ability to finish the game, especially after not having an exact plan in mind on who would finish the game if Garrett was unable to. Left-hander Richard Lovelady was warming up in the bullpen during the ninth inning in case Garrett faltered.

Carlos Mendoza says that the initial plan was not for Reed Garrett to go two innings today.

What was the initial plan?

Mendoza: *laughs* 😂 pic.twitter.com/NucJyrjXv0

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

With the Mets receiving another blow to their bullpen as José Butto landed on the injured list with an undisclosed illness, which is expected to keep him out until after the All-Star Break, they're hoping that this outing by Garrett can be one he can build off of and get back on track.