In today’s newsletter: A truly disastrous loss, what to do about Edwin Díaz, and a rare offensive breakout (in vain).
A Cursed Mound
New York, we have a closer problem. For his third appearance in a row, Edwin Díaz collapsed spectacularly, blowing a four-run lead in the bottom of the 9th as the Mets lost 10-9 to the Marlins in 10 innings on Saturday. The Mets led this one 7-2 and 9-5 at different points only for their former All-Star closer who, right now, looks anything but, to give up hits to four of the five batters he faced — the last, Josh Bell, smashed a game-tying three-run home run 428 feet to dead-center field.
After being shut out by Jesús Luzardo in a really weak effort on Friday, the Mets’ bats, with a new lineup configuration, did their job. Six different Mets had 2+ hits and New York scored multiple times in the 1st, 5th and 9th innings. But, it wasn’t enough as Díaz fell apart once again, dropping the Mets to five games under .500 for the first time since they started the season 0-5.
Singles by J.D. Martinez and Mark Vientos gave New York an early 2-0 lead and while Luis Severino allowed tallies in the 2nd and 3rd, it was a sign that the offense was set to have a big day.
The Mets made it 3-2 in the 4th on a run-scoring Francisco Lindor groundout, set up by Jeff McNeil and Tomás Nido singles and McNeil’s steal of third. They then broke through in a big way in the 5th, chasing Braxton Garrett by loading the bases. Declan Cronin came in and Harrison Bader greeted him with a line drive single up the middle, scoring a pair. Then, McNeil followed suit with a two-run knock of his own to give New York a 7-2 edge.
Severino cruised through the 5th and 6th but ran into trouble in the 7th as Carlos Mendoza tried to coax him through one last frame. He probably should have been pulled after a lead-off walk to Nick Gordon yet stayed in to allow run-scoring hits from Otto Lopez and Jazz Chisholm Jr. Reed Garrett came in and gave up two more hits of his own as the Marlins wound up scoring three runs to get within 7-5.
For a bullpen that has been shaky as of late — to say the least — the two insurance runs the Mets added in the top of the 9th on doubles from Brandon Nimmo, Martinez and Starling Marte looked to finally put this one out of reach.
Mendoza turned to Díaz in the non-save situation, hoping to get his beleagured closer a lower-pressure inning to figure out his mechanical issues. It was the right move but it backfired spectacularly. Díaz’s slider had almost no movement and the Marlins jumped on him right away, with hits by Vidal Brujan, Chisholm and Bryan de la Cruz that cut the lead to 9-6 and brought power-hitting Josh Bell up as the tying run.
And, of course, Díaz grooved another slider to him right at the bottom of the zone where he likes his pitches and Bell absolutely demolished it to the ivy in center, halfway up the batter’s eye. Three of the four hits he allowed were on that slider and none bigger than Bell’s dinger, the fifth home run Díaz has given up this season in 18 innings. For reference, he gave up a total of six home runs in 2021 and 2022 — a combined 124 2/3 innings.
Unsurprisingly, the Mets couldn’t push the free runner across in the 10th — they are 4-for-12 in scoring the free runner this season and are 1-for-8 at doing so in the 10th inning — and Jorge López entered to try and save the day as he did on Thursday night. After getting Gordon to line out, though, Otto Lopez singled up the middle to cap another disastrous day at the ballyard for the Mets.
What To Note
Really, really bad. Pitching at LoanDepot Park for the first time since his tore his patellar tendon celebrating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Díaz was essentially batting practice for one of the worst offenses in the Majors. Control wasn’t the problem on Saturday, command was. Control is being able to throw strikes while command is being able to get the ball to wherever you want it to go, be it a breaking ball in the dirt or a fastball on the outside corner. Díaz’s fastball was fine but he clearly doesn’t have as much confidence in it now than the velocity is a few ticks down, likely owing to his long rehab process.
So, he been relying way too heavily on his slider which doesn’t have the same bite it did in 2022. This is where command comes into play. When his slider is “on,” it starts off as a strike before dipping away from batters. That’s why he gets so many swing-and-misses from righties flailing at pitches in the other batter’s box or from lefties trying to hit pitches that almost hit them. The slider has none of that movement now and he can’t command it to do anything. As a result, it starts off as a strike and stays a strike, acting as more of a cutting fastball than a true breaking ball.
Mendoza didn’t answer in the affirmative when asked if Díaz would be the closer if today’s game required one. I really don’t see how the Mets, desperate for a win in general, can trust him in any high-leverage spot right now. Díaz — who is normally a very confident guy — was extremely down in his postgame media availability on Saturday and just isn’t pitching like a guy who can’t be relied on. I really don’t think a Minor League demotion, such as what the Blue Jays recently did with Alek Manoah, should be off the table. The Mets can’t afford to blow any games in which they have a late lead. The margin of error is zero.
It got lost in the Díaz blowup and the general offensive productivity but Lindor went 0-for-5 and his average is back down to .190. He is 1-for-his-last 25 and continues to particularly struggle with runners in scoring position. In those situations, he is 8-for-45. That will not cut it.
He wasn’t charged with any runs but Garrett struggled again on Saturday and has now given up hits in his last five outings. He is still striking out plenty of batters yet the league may be figuring him out. Another troubling sign for a team with those to spare.
Good to see a three-hit game from Starling Marte. His bat has been sorely missed.
Looking Ahead
The Mets look to avoid a sweep at the hands of MLB’s worst team as they close out the series with the Marlins at 1:40 p.m. on PIX11. It’s Sean Manaea agains Sixto Sánchez. Manaea is coming off a strong six-inning, one-run effort against the Phillies while Sánchez, working his way back from multiple shoulder injuries, has been up-and-down in his return to the Majors. He has only struck out 13 batters in 22 2/3 innings.
Francisco Lindor leads off again, followed by Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo at DH. DJ Stewart is in right — J.D. Martinez has the day off as he deals with flu-like symptoms — while Tyrone Taylor is in left and Brett Baty is at third. McNeil, after his nice game, is playing second as usual and then it’s Harrison Bader in center and Omar Narváez behind the dish. Marte is also out of the lineup.
Of note: Nimmo was lifted late in Saturday’s game with what Mendoza called cramping. That may be why he’s not in the field this afternoon.