TORONTO — Edwin Diaz's season has been on a downward spiral after he was lost in back-to-back starts at Arizona last month, and the Mets are right along with it.
Questions from when Diaz struggled earlier this season have begun to resurface: Has he lost his confidence? Is he physically OK?
Ever since Corbin Carroll's grand slam against Diaz on Aug. 28 that sent the Mets to a blowout loss (just three days earlier, the Padres' Jackson Merrill had struck out Diaz with a home run in the ninth inning), the closer was once again on an unbeatable streak entering Tuesday's game.
Diaz entered the game without allowing an earned run in seven consecutive innings, allowing just two hits and one walk in those seven innings.
One positive is that his four-seam fastball has been more active recently, including getting back up to 100 mph last weekend against the Reds.
He pitched nine scoreless innings, hitting a top speed of 99 mph, against the Blue Jays on Monday to earn his 17th save.
Diaz has been using the slider more in his arsenal of late after back-to-back misses last month that led to two home runs.
“I've just got to keep mixing both pitches,” Diaz said before the Mets took on the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. “They're both really good pitches. I just have to believe in myself. I think I've had a little bit more of a slider percentage this year. I'm throwing 98-100 mph.” [mph] So I've got to keep believing in my fastball.”
Diaz threw eight fastballs and four sliders during his Monday appearance.
Despite reducing the number of times he throws the slider over the past two weeks, he is still using it 50.6 percent of the time this season.
“I think it depends on the matchup and who they're playing,” pitching coach Jeremy Heffner said.[The slider] “It's a hittable pitch. It depends on the opponent, but I'm going to throw whatever they want.”
Diaz briefly had a scare Monday night when Leo Jimenez pounced on a 98 mph fastball, drove it into deep right field and looked like he had a chance to beat the Mets.
The ball was caught by Starling Marte for the final out.
“I hit it pretty good, but at the same time, I didn't think I hit it that hard,” Diaz said. “It looked like it came off the end of the bat a little bit, so it stayed in the yard. I think if I'd hit it better, it would've been a home run.”
Diaz was temporarily removed from the closer role in May after posting an 8.68 ERA and four failed saves, a slump he blamed on a lack of confidence.
Diaz's season also includes time on the disabled list and a 10-game suspension for violating MLB rules regarding sticky substances.
He played in just four games over a three-week period in late July and early August.
“Maybe that gives him a little bit of breathing room right now,” Heffner said. “I think he's in good shape, he's got his eye on the finish line and he's giving it his all in a lot of ways.”
The Mets' success over the remaining 2 1/2 weeks will depend on their ability to hand the ball to Diaz in save situations and whether the right-hander can continue to score runs.
The Mets entered opening day one game behind Atlanta for the National League's third wild card spot, and on the night Diaz gave up a grand slam to Carroll in Arizona, the Mets fell four games behind Atlanta for that spot.
“I want the ball,” Diaz said. “If I get the ball, I'm going to do my job because I know we can do something special here.”
