Devin Williams carrying himself with old confidence as linchpin of Mets bullpen

Devin Williams was on the mound with a streak of nine straight scoreless outings under his belt, and yet when that wind-blown shallow fly ball fell in for a double leading off the ninth inning on Thursday in Washington, D. C, I’m quite sure most Mets fans were thinking the worst. How could you not, to be honest?

It has been that kind of season for the Mets, and, well, Williams has a reputation, between his work in the Bronx last season and a rough start in Queens this year, for shrinking in the biggest moments as a closer. Going all the way back to giving up the famous Pete Alonso home run for the Brewers, actually. So I don’t blame you if you’re not fully buying in to the new-and-improved Devin Williams just yet.

Or is it the old reliable Devin Williams, going back to his pre-Alonso Milwaukee days? But to be fair, the guy has been as lockdown as a closer can be for nearly a month now, covering his last 10 appearances, including Thursday’s 2-1 win over the Nationals . This one was especially impressive as Williams didn’t flinch on Thursday, despite the misplay by A.

J. Ewing in center that turned Daylen Lile ’s wind-blown fly ball into a leadoff double. Indeed, after a ground ball pushed the tying run on third base with one out, Williams fell behind 3-1 to Jose Tena , yet struck him out by getting swings on two nasty changeups.