Mets' Edwin Diaz works scoreless ninth to get save in return from suspension
PITTSBURGH — A remorseless Edwin Diaz returned to the Mets’ roster on Saturday and reiterated that he will not change anything about how he pitches or prepares to pitch after his sticky-stuff suspension.
Then he returned to the mound, too, and looked like his regular self, closing out the Mets’ 5-2 win over the Pirates with a scoreless ninth inning.
He admitted to being “a little anxious” for his first batter, Oneil Cruz, whom he hit with a fastball in the dirt. Then he struck out Rowdy Tellez and got Andrew McCutchen to ground into a game-ending double play.
“I just want to keep doing my job,” Diaz said.
Before the game, he described having to sit out for 10 games as “crazy” and “tough.” But insisting on his innocence, Diaz said he will continue to use rosin, sweat and dirt on his pitching hand, just as he says he did on June 23 in Chicago, when umpire Vic Carapazza deemed him to be using a foreign substance.
“I will do the same thing. I didn’t have anything that day. I will do the same thing,” Diaz said in his first public comments since MLB suspended him June 24. “I don’t feel guilty because I didn’t have anything. I was using that right stuff they allow us to use. So I didn’t feel guilty. They said I was using an illegal substance, but I feel fine because I didn’t use anything wrong.”
Manager Carlos Mendoza said he is comfortable with that approach by Diaz because “I believe Edwin.”
But he also emphasized the importance of his pitchers being careful. Since the start of last season, of the six pitchers to be punished for having a foreign substance, three have been Mets.
“Our job is to continue to educate the guys and make sure incidents like that don’t happen,” Mendoza said. “You gotta go by the rules. Obviously, rosin is legal, sweat and things like that. After that, you’re going to go over the line. That’s the conversation we’re having with everyone. Make sure you stick to the rules.”
Asked how he will ensure that he doesn’t get in trouble again if he doesn’t change, Diaz didn’t really have an answer. But he did talk to Drew Smith, who was punished under the same rule last year, said he didn’t adjust upon returning and hasn’t had any issues since.
“I will keep doing the thing I was doing — rock rosin, sweat and dirt. I think it should be fine,” Diaz said.
While Diaz was out, the Mets’ bullpen had an 8.37 ERA, worst in the majors. They lost Smith and Sean Reid-Foley to injuries around the same time, which combined with Diaz’s ban to create a revolving-door dynamic, with several pitchers getting chances when they otherwise would not have been in the majors.
“Obviously, getting him back is huge for us now,” Mendoza said. “Some of the other guys can slide back to some of the other roles, whether it’s pitching the sixth, seventh or eighth. And it’s just good to have him back.”
With Diaz, everything indeed worked much better Saturday. His presence plus rest in recent days for the team’s other best relievers allowed Mendoza to be aggressive in pulling David Peterson, who exited after 4 1⁄3 innings and 87 pitches.
The bullpen handled the other 4 2⁄3 innings without allowing a run. Jose Butto (five outs), Reed Garrett (three), Dedniel Nunez (three) and Diaz protected the lead with minimal drama.
The only real scare came during Garrett’s seventh when he loaded the bases with one out. The key assist on the final out came from plate umpire John Tumpane. Garrett threw six consecutive pitches out of the strike zone to Jack Suwinski. Two that were not particularly close were called strikes. After the latter, Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton yelled at Tumpane, who ejected him.
Afforded that full-count second chance, Garrett threw a splitter below the zone that Suwinski whiffed at.
Backup catcher Luis Torrens accounted for most of the offense, driving in three runs and scoring another. But Mendoza inserted Francisco Alvarez behind the plate for the bottom of the ninth because of the “relationship between him and Diaz,” especially in Diaz’s first appearance back.
Diaz needed only 10 pitches to finish it.
“It’s a totally different ballgame,” Mendoza said, “when you know you have Edwin Diaz ready to go in the ninth.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
