NEW YORK – Trumpets sounded shortly after 4 pm Saturday at Citi Field as Edwin Díaz emerged from the bullpen. Fans cheered and danced to the farewell song popularized during the closer’s dominant 2022 season. He was applauded again when he was introduced as a New York Mets pitcher in the ninth inning with a one-run lead over the San Francisco Giants.
Diaz, after a week-long role demotion, was closing out a game again in Queens like old times. But these aren’t like the old days for Diaz.
His recent disastrous streak as a closer continued Saturday with another blown save, this time on LaMonte Wade Jr.’s one-out RBI single that ultimately sent the game into extra innings. The Giants then erupted for five runs in the 10th inning for their second straight victory to open the series, this time by a 7-2 decision.
Diaz has now blown a lead in four consecutive ninth inning appearances. He has not successfully saved a game since May 6. He has blown four saves in nine opportunities this season.
“He’s our closer,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after his team fell to 21-30 with the loss. “In order for us to win games and get to where we want to go, he has to pitch. And I felt like that was the right place.”
The Mets have lost five straight games and 12 of their last 15. They are 6-16 in May and are quickly falling out of the postseason picture. Different departments have faltered down the stretch, but the struggles of their $102 million closers have been the most prominent.
“Yeah, I think so,” Diaz, 30, said when asked if he felt like he was still the team’s closer. “I think I have to do my job better, obviously, but I feel like I’m the man in the ninth inning, like they always say. I feel like that. And I’m ready. When they give me the ball in the ninth, I’ll do my job.”
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Saturday’s outing was Diaz’s first ninth-inning appearance since allowing four runs and recording one out against the Miami Marlins last Saturday. After the game, Diaz, who had blown saves in his previous two outings, admitted his confidence was “low” and broke down in tears.
The streak prompted the Mets to not have Diaz pitch in their three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians during the week. Instead, he threw bullpen sessions as the Mets were swept. He focused on mastering his fastball and glove-side slider and throwing with conviction again.
Diaz returned to the mound Friday at Citi Field, pitching a scoreless seventh inning against the Giants in a lower-leverage situation designed to rebuild his confidence. Díaz left with the hope of returning to normal. Less than 24 hours later, he was back on the mound.
Wilmer Flores ambushed Díaz with a single through the right side on his first pitch. Moments later, pinch-runner Ryan McKenna stole second base. Then, with one out, Wade delivered the tying single to right field.
“The game is not lost in the last ninth inning,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “It seems like every day we lose games in one inning, but we have to look at the whole game. It’s a little unfair that it falls on him, the closer.”
The results were different from Friday, but Diaz insisted he felt and executed better.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. I think I made some really good throws,” Diaz said. “That’s what I want to do. The results weren’t what I wanted, but my performance on the mound, how I looked and how I felt was much better than last week.”
Díaz was dominant in 2022, his best season as a major league player. He posted a 1.31 ERA, 2.97 ERA, 0.90 FIP and 0.839 WHIP in 61 appearances. He was an All-Star. He finished ninth in the Cy Young race and 16th in MVP voting. He then suffered a season-ending tear of the patellar tendon in his right knee celebrating a victory for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023. The freak injury marked the beginning of a disappointing 2023 season for the Mets.
The 2024 campaign follows a similar path but, this time, with Díaz healthy.
“He’s got to keep throwing,” Mendoza said. “My job is to keep finding ways for him and we have to fight to overcome it. You can’t hide it. He has to go, he has to pitch. He’s too good a pitcher and we’re pretty confident that he’ll turn it around.”
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