Dominant Diaz would be sugar on top for Mets
Phillies bats get to bullpen, spoil Walker’s strong return from IL
Lost in the celebration and triumph of the Mets combined no-hitter on Friday was the absolute filth Edwin Diaz served to the meat of the Phillies order. Diaz, nicknamed “Sugar,” was the only pitcher among the Mets arms who followed starter Tylor Megill who realized he was walking into a no-hitter when his signature entrance music, “Narco” by Blasterjaxx & Timmy Trumpet, blared through Citi Field. Once he reached the mound, catcher James McCann approached Diaz to tell him they were ditching the PitchCom device because it was too loud. So, rather than listening to an automated voice, Diaz and McCann went the traditional route — watching for the catcher’s signs.
“It was too loud to use it,” Diaz said. “People were screaming.”
Three outs away from the second-ever no-hitter in Mets history, combined or not, McCann called for Diaz to throw slider after slider against Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto. Of the 13 pitches Diaz offered the Phillies, 10 of them were sliders. The closer said he didn’t question McCann’s pitch calling too much because the Mets bullpen had been “nasty” before him.
So Diaz relied on his best pitch, a 90 mph slider that featured the sharpest of breaks on a blustery night in Flushing. Whereas in previous outings fans have seen the dilemma with Diaz’s slider — if he misses his mark on even just one, and it hangs over the plate just a moment too long, then it could mean trouble — his breaking pitch on Friday was devastating. Diaz struck out the side and completed the five-pitcher combined no-hitter.
“He’s not just a heaver that goes out there and sees if he can overmatch people with his fastball,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said of Diaz. “He’s a lot more of a pitcher than people think. If you look at some of the pitches that he made last night, those were some good hitters, really good hitters. It’s tough to find any weak links in their batting order.”
Asked if that was one of Diaz’s best performances since joining the Mets, the closer nodded his head and simply said: “I think so.” As far as memorabilia, Diaz said he kept his jersey, cleats and hat from the no-hitter.
Diaz said his social media was flooded Friday night with congratulatory texts and messages from friends, family and fans. He sifted through them all once he reached home, about a 20 minute drive from Citi Field, and sat on his couch just going through the compliments.
His lights-out performance lowered his season ERA to 1.80 across 10 relief appearances to go along with his four saves.
“Edwin’s shown the resiliency, think about it, even with seasons,” said Showalter. “He’s at a stage where I think he’s kind of figured out himself a little bit.”
The Met closer has endured quite the journey since he was traded, alongside Robinson Cano, to Queens amid fans that were furious about the transaction. Further worsening the optics around the trade, Diaz deeply struggled in his first year with the Amazin’s, compiling a career-worst 5.59 ERA and blowing seven save opportunities.
Diaz dug himself into a hole after that first season and if Mets fans needed any more convincing that he’s back to being the elite closer he was for the Seattle Mariners, then Friday was the ultimate confirmation. In a high-pressure situation surrounded by expectant fans, Diaz oozed confidence and the results followed.
Next, the closer is tasked with maintaining that consistency over the course of the next five-plus months. But fans should be encouraged by his ability to meet the moment in one of the toughest spots he’ll find himself this season. If Diaz was once unreliable and inconsistent in high-leverage situations, his performance on Friday showed he’s October-ready.
“Edwin’s in a good part of his career,” said Showalter. “That’s another good thing about having multi-year contracts. You get the chance to pull out of it and he has.”
One day after five Mets pitchers silenced the Phillies offense, the division rivals woke up against the Amazin’s bullpen and showed just how deep their lineup can be.
Adam Ottavino coughed up the Mets’ one-run lead when he gave up three earned runs on two hits, including a two-run home run to Kyle Schwarber, in the seventh inning of the Mets’ 4-1 loss to the Phillies on Saturday at Citi Field. Buck Showalter didn’t wait for Ottavino to complete the frame, as the skipper went to Sean Reid-Foley in relief.
Reid-Foley induced a flyout for the final out of the seventh, but he opened the eighth by allowing a solo home run to Rhys Hoskins before exiting his outing with an apparent injury. Even though the Phillies did some late-game damage, the Mets had a few opportunities to crawl out of their three-run hole.
But the Mets offense squandered those opportunities, going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 men on base. The Amazin’s loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a pair of free passes from former Mets reliever Jeurys Familia, but Brandon Nimmo grounded out against Corey Knebel to leave the bases loaded and wipe out the club’s brewing offensive threat.
On the brighter side, Taijuan Walker continued the rotation’s excellent performance in his return from the injured list. With his shoulder bursitis completely behind him, Walker pitched five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits across 73 pitches against the Phillies.
Saturday was only Walker’s second outing of the season after he missed two turns through the rotation on the IL. David Peterson, who has since been demoted to Triple-A Syracuse, replaced Walker in the starting staff and excelled in his assignment from Day 1. Walker had left his season debut on April 11 against the Phillies after two perfect innings. Peterson took the ball from him in the third inning of that game and he never looked back, compiling 14 innings of one-run ball across three outings while Walker was sidelined on the IL.
But Peterson was a seventh-string depth starter and, with ace Jacob deGrom on the IL, Walker is the Mets’ No. 3 arm. He pitched like one on Saturday, albeit with a shorter hook. Since Walker also dealt with knee soreness in spring training, leading to a shorter rampup and a limited pitch count, the Mets ensured that Walker would stretch out up to four innings in his previous rehab outings. As such, it was encouraging that Walker pitched five innings against the Phillies at Citi Field, with terrific results to boot. The Mets pitching staff extended its hitless streak to 10 innings, picking up from Friday’s combined no-hitter, after Walker retired the side in the first. It wasn’t until Nick Castellanos’ leadoff single in the second inning that the Phillies finally got a hit, which was also the first hit Mets pitchers gave up since Wednesday in St. Louis.