Carlos Mendoza smiled and laughed when the question was posed to him.
The Mets manager said Edwin Diaz has come off the disabled list with a right shoulder injury and is available to pitch for the second straight day.
This was just hours before the Mets and Padres began a three-game series at Citi Field, and long before Diaz won a commanding 2-1 victory to help the Mets record their ninth win in 13 games.
“He’s doing well,” Mendoza said at the time.
That’s been the case with the Mets recently. If they split the final two games of the series, the Mets will be unbeaten in five straight series.
The team won three straight games in Queens for the second time this year and also brought back their closer.
This looked like the 2022 version of Diaz, overwhelming hitters with a blistering fastball and a sharp slider, shaking off a leadoff single and rallying from a 1-3 deficit to overwhelm Jake Cronenworth.
He’s been a different man since coming off the injured list on Thursday, recording his first save in 39 days.
His velocity has increased — he reached 100 mph for the first time this season on Friday — and his control has also improved.
“He’s back and we’re going to need him,” Mendoza said.
“I’m feeling great, I’m happy. … I’m feeling a lot better than I’ve been feeling, so I think my pitching is better. If I keep doing what I’m doing now, I’ll be in good shape,” Diaz said.
The ninth inning was an eventful one. Jurickson Profar singled on the ninth pitch of Diaz’s run, then pinch runner Jose Azocar stole second base.
But Diaz struck out Manny Machado, protected the lead on a sliding play by Jeff McNeil, and then Diaz got Cronenworth caught on a 3-2 slider to end the game.
Before Cronenworth’s at-bat, Francisco Alvarez took to the mound to give Diaz a rest and some encouragement.
The young catcher told Diaz, “I have a lot of confidence in you. Just follow me and pitch, and you’ll be fine.”
The Mets have hardly been dominant lately.
On Thursday, they were two outs away from losing the series to the lowly Marlins before J.D. Martinez’s walk-off, two-run homer, and on Friday, Martinez’s two-run double in the third inning was all the offense they could muster.
He was fooled by Padres knuckleballer Matt Waldron and managed just one hit the rest of the way.
It didn’t matter.
Sean Manaea and four relief pitchers held off Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and the Padres as the Mets finished 31-37 and moved to within six games of .500.
San Diego came into the game on a roll, winning five of its last six games, including a win over the Athletics, but the NL West team managed just five hits against the Mets.
They have allowed just 11 runs in four games so far this homestand.
“Honestly, the whole bullpen is different. The team is different,” Martinez said of Diaz’s addition. “I’ve said it many times before, he’s the cornerstone of our bullpen. If we can get the ball to him, we win a lot of games. … If he comes back and does what he’s been doing the last few days, it’s going to be a fun game. It’s going to be a fun streak.”
The Mets broke through with two outs in the third inning. Brandon Nimmo, who was 3-for-22 at-bats, singled to right field and Martinez smashed a two-run double down the right field line.
The Padres got one back in the fifth on Jackson Merrill’s sixth home run of the year, his only run in the first five innings against Manaea, who struck out seven batters and allowed just two singles.
Manaea only managed to hold one batter through the sixth inning.
After Luis Arraez singled as leadoff hitter, Mendoza was sent to the bullpen. Adam Ottavino, Jake Diekman, Sean Reid-Foley and Diaz handled the rest of the innings as the Mets continued their recent momentum.
