Díaz Falters Amid Heavier Workload

Before entering Game No. 161 against the Atlanta Braves last Monday, Edwin Díaz had pitched more than one inning four times in 2024. He’s been asked to do it three times in the week since. It must be October.

Díaz was summoned in the seventh inning Sunday with two on and two out to face Kyle Schwarber, with the Mets holding a 4-3 lead in Game 2 of the NLDS. Manager Carlos Mendoza said post-game that the plan was for Díaz to face the best part of the Phillies’ lineup and for someone else to close.

The flamethrower struck out Schwarber. But in the eighth, the Phillies got to him. He walked Bryce Harper with one out. Nick Castellanos singled Harper to third, and Bryson Stott lined a two-run triple down the right-field line that chased Díaz. He only got two of the four outs his manager wanted.

Mendoza didn’t think the longer outings on Monday (1.2 innings) and Thursday (1.2 innings) affected Diaz’s performance on Sunday (three earned runs). Sunday’s 25-pitch effort made it 130 pitches in four outings over eight days for Díaz. In the eight days that preceded that, he threw 47 pitches in two appearances.

“Yeah, but he’s also coming off two days off,” the manager told reporters. “He wasn’t going to finish that game… he came in in the seventh. I thought that was the game… with their best hitters coming up. And he got Schwarber. And then he got Turner, like I said. Look, they’re a good team. They’re great hitters. It just didn’t happen today.”

Díaz seemed to regret his approach against Harper, who is 2-for-15 with 11 strikeouts and three walks lifetime against him. The two hits were both home runs.

“I went lazy to him instead of attacking him,” he told reporters. “I tried to make pitches to see if he can chase … instead of going against him like I always do.”

Physically, Díaz said, he was good to go. In the last eight days (four outings), he’s thrown 130 pitches.

“I have been feeling fine,” he said. “You know, I have been able to work… This is a big moment for us. I gotta be ready always… I think after Harper, I lost my control a little bit. I thought I made a really good pitch to Castellanos, he just blooped it to the other side.”

Díaz was 6-4 with a 3.52 ERA and 1.04 WHIP this season after missing 2023 with an injury. Those numbers are good but pale compared to the stats he posted in 2022, when he went 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. In his two 2024 postseason appearances, the Mets’ closer is 1-0 with an 11.57 ERA, five strikeouts, three walks and one save in 2.1 innings pitched. 

Further, in 2022, he saved 32 games in 35 chances, striking out 118 in 62 innings. This year, he was 20-for-27 in save opportunities and fanned 84 in 53.2 innings. Of pitchers who saved at least 20 games, only Clay Holmes of the Yankees had more blown saves (13).

The Mets pitching staff will get a much-deserved rest day Monday on an off day before welcoming the Phillies to Citi Field for Game 3 of the NLDS. All eyes will be on how Mendoza manages the bullpen with a rested and refreshed crop of arms, including a one-day rested Díaz. Will the likes of Ryne Stanek or Reed Garrett enter for a save opportunity in a close Game 3, or will Mendoza go to Dìaz again?

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