The New York Mets new closer grew up near St. Louis, and he got his first Mets save against the Cards on Monday night.
New Mets closer Devin Williams has become a New York kind of guy in the last couple of years, but for his first save with the New York Mets, he reached back to his Midwestern roots by posting it against the St. Louis Cardinals. Williams grew in Hazelwood, which is just 20 minutes from where the Cardinals play, according to Zach Sweet of MLB.com.
“It’s always special playing here,” Williams said about the geography of his first big success as a Met. “My family gets to see me here more than anywhere else. That was the first time my son has seen me get a save in this stadium, and his birthday is today, so it was a little birthday present for him.”
The Mets beat the Cards on Monday night, 4-2, and the game was indicative of how much New York will rely on its new closer. Williams needed just 12 pitches to finish thing off against St. Louis, and he had the kind of command that made the save feel easy, throwing a 10 strikes out of a total of 12 pitches.
“It’s great to get the first one,” Williams said. “And for it to go as smoothly as it did was awesome. But the closer role or the eighth inning, my mentality has always stayed the same. I’m out there to get three outs and either end the game or pass it to the next guy.”
The Mets took a gamble by letting their flashy former closer, Edwin Diaz, leave for the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency, but manager Carlos Mendoza viewed Williams’ performance as confirmation of what the Mets have in the back of their bullpen.
“He’s elite,” Mendoza said. “And when he’s on his game, when he’s at his best, he’s pretty tough. It was just good to see him out there getting the first one out of the way, and we’ve got to keep it there.”
As smooth as Williams was, he didn’t have his best out pitch, which has always been his changeup, despite the fact that Cardinals hitters struggled to square it up.
“The feel of it didn’t feel all the way there,” Williams said. “It’s a feel pitch, and there’s always a little adjustment period at the beginning of the season. Just getting into that rhythm again. I feel like I’m in a good spot, but I think I could be even better.”
The Mets will send new ace Freddy Peralta to the mound for his second start today in the rubber game of the three-game series against St. Louis. Peralta played alongside Williams for six years with the Milwaukee Brewers, which gave him plenty of chances to see Williams have success with the changeup.
“I think he has the best changeup in the league,” Peralta said. “He knows when to throw it, he knows how to throw it. When you have a changeup like that, especially paired with the fastball, it makes it very difficult for hitters.”