The Mets' bullpen has been a key factor into the team's first-place standing. On Wednesday, they faced their toughest task of the season.

After scoring four runs in the top of the first, David Peterson allowed five earned runs and recorded just one out. The bullpen was asked to get the final 26 outs of the ballgame.

And they did so almost flawlessly.

Mets relievers combined to allow just five hits in 8.2 innings on Wednesday, while Miguel Castro and Edwin Diaz combined for three no-hit innings to preserve the victory.

But Robert Gsellman, the first man out of the pen, kept the Diamondbacks at bay, and tossed 3.2 shutout frames.

"He was the one. He was the key for this," said manager Luis Rojas. "He kept the game just like that, bridging us to a point where [Seth] Lugo can come in and do what he did for us. So once again, the bullpen just came through.”

Lugo made his 2021 debut on Wednesday after he had surgery on his right elbow earlier this year.

“Felt great. I’ve been building up for this since February, so exciting to get back out there and help the team win, but more importantly, I felt really good out there," Lugo said.

Even Francisco Lindor has taken notice of how good the Mets bullpen has been.

"The bullpen’s doing outstanding. It’s fun to watch," Lindor said. "It seems like on certain days, it seems like nobody throws below 97. It’s really cool to watch them go to work and for them continue to carry us. They have been the ones doing the job day in and day out since day one. Yeah, they have bad outings, but at the end of the day, we are where we are today and they are a big part of why we are here.”

"They've done a tremendous job just all the way around," added James McCann. "Where there's a game where our offense is struggling to put up runs, they've kept opponents at bay and give us an opportunity to win a game. Or where our offense has put up runs, they've done a really good job of keeping their offense down."

It's no secret that the Mets bullpen has been a big liability in years past. But it's definitely different this time around.

One difference, Rojas says, is how good the starters have been at shutting down opposing offenses and giving the Mets length.

But as for the bullpen itself?

"I think we have more roles now. We have the guys that can give length. We have guys that can come in tow innings to bridge... and we have a lot of guys that can pitch in the back-end," Rojas said.

The Mets' bullpen ERA now sits at 3.14 (67 earned runs/192 innings) - entering Wednesday, that would be the fifth-best mark in MLB.

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