NEW YORK — Fifty days into his New York Mets tenure, Ryan Helsley started to look like Ryan Helsley.

On a Friday night when Juan Soto hit a landmark home run and Francisco Lindor did just about everything a baseball player can do well, it was Helsley’s top of the seventh inning that stood out as the Mets’ most important development in a 12-6 win over the Washington Nationals. Like Sherlock Holmes’ dog that didn’t bark, what was uneventful was most meaningful.

“There’s a lot to like,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s executing when he needs to.”

Acquired at the trade deadline to set up for Edwin Díaz, Helsley got off to a slow start that swiftly spiraled into a nightmare. He struggled to fix an issue with pitch tipping, the mechanical change necessary to prevent tipping causing him to think less about pitch execution on the mound and more about where his hands were. Citi Field never stopped playing “Hell’s Bells” for his entrances, but it hit those gongs earlier and earlier, at points of the game that were increasingly unimportant.

And so Friday was a test for Helsley: his first chance at a hold since Aug. 26. He had been 0-for-4 in hold or save situations with the Mets, and he’d allowed the go-ahead run in two of the three tie games he’d pitched in.

Handed an 8-6 lead with 8-9-1 due up in the Washington order, Helsley was as sharp as he’s been with the Mets. He induced a 6-3 groundout from Jorge Alfaro, caught Jacob Young looking at a slider and watched James Wood line innocently to right.

That’s three straight scoreless outings for Helsley, who says he’s almost comfortable with the mechanical changes necessitated by his pitch tipping. After spending his entire career with his hands stretched away from his body at the start of his delivery, Helsley is holding them tight to his chest.

You can see the difference between his first outing with the Mets …

… versus Friday night:

“I was here for forever,” he said, stretching his arms out. “That was my norm. At first, this (new set-up) felt tight and super constrictive and not super athletic to me. I’ve had a few weeks to really work on it and get comfortable with it and ingrain it in my mind to make it my new norm.”

Helsley has felt good about his stuff the whole time he’s been with the Mets, reassured by the team’s analytics staff that his fastball and slider were grading out as well or better than earlier this year with the St. Louis Cardinals. Mentally, though, it was hard to attack with the same aggressiveness.

When you’re making mechanical changes, Helsley said, “You tend to think a little more than you normally do in game situations. The more I get comfortable with this, it will help me career-wise to not have to worry about it anymore. The last few outings have felt good and I’m getting closer to where I want to be.”

And the Mets don’t have the luxury of writing off what Helsley can provide. The deep bullpen they thought they built at the deadline has seldom looked it. Fellow acquisition Gregory Soto has struggled after a hot start. Reed Garrett is out for the season. Ryne Stanek has remained inconsistent. The Mets need Helsley to be himself to go far in October.

There’s still plenty of time for that to happen. At this time last year, Stanek was basically a bullpen afterthought, seldom trusted in hold situations ahead of Díaz. By the National League Championship Series, he was the only arm trusted ahead of Díaz.

“We have eight games left, and I’ll throw three or four more times,” Helsley said. “Hopefully I get in a groove and see what happens in October.”

“This is a guy that’s proven it before in this league,” Mendoza said. “It’s good to see this guy out there in high leverage and get three outs. That’s huge.”

It was a good night all around for New York’s relief corps. Brooks Raley, Stanek and Tyler Rogers joined Helsley in setting down every batter they faced — 11 total among the four of them. Those are the arms New York is going to need to get to the postseason, and then to make noise while there.

Juan José Soto Pacheco 🫡 pic.twitter.com/CTEg4jbS2J

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 20, 2025

That bullpen held the lead after Soto and Lindor propelled the Mets’ offense. Soto’s three-run homer in the fourth broke the game open, capping a six-run outburst and pushing a 5-4 lead to 8-4. It was Soto’s career-high 42nd blast of the season. He’s just the second Met to hit that many in a season, joining the guy who hits behind him in Pete Alonso.

“I continue to be in awe of it,” Brandon Nimmo said. “I know how hard it is, and he hits those home runs with such ease.”

Lindor collected three hits and scored four times. On three different occasions, Lindor took an extra 90 feet thanks to a Washington error, always ready to seize on the mistake. The Mets need to be that opportunistic all weekend against a Nationals team they’ve beaten 11 consecutive times in Queens. With the Reds beating the Cubs again, New York’s lead for the final NL wild-card spot stayed at two games.

(Photo of Juan Soto hitting his 42nd home run of the season: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)