Forget about the first impression and instead count the first strikes.
Mets closer Edwin Diaz retired the Braves in order on just seven pitches in the ninth inning Tuesday to convert his eighth straight save and his 17th in 18 opportunities overall. Sounds like an All-Star résumé, which is hard to believe for anyone who saw his introduction to New York.
“He’s having a really good year,” manager Luis Rojas said before Wednesday’s game in Atlanta. “You have to give it to command. The stuff, we all know, is special. [Throwing] strike one, that’s going to lead to a lot of really good things because now you are getting opposing batters into swing mode and it’s tough to get into swing mode against a guy like Edwin because he’s got the heavy fastball and then he’s got the slider with late movement.”
Batters who swing at the first pitch against the 27-year-old Diaz are hitting .186 in 45 plate appearances. But Diaz’s knack for delivering a first-pitch strike about 65 percent of the time doesn’t make it any easier because they are hitting .177 after the count starts 0-1 and .140 when behind in the count.
Some of the success is attributable to a new slider grip developed by Diaz and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. Braves pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval tried to jump on Diaz’s first pitch with one out in the ninth and the dangerous Ronald Acuna Jr. on deck.
“He saw a fastball out of the hand, and next thing you know he ran out of bat and hit that ball off the end to right field,” Rojas said. “I think the command has been the key and the slider has improved.”
There’s also an important psyche aspect not to be overlooked.
Diaz led the majors with 57 saves (in 61 opportunities) for the 2018 Mariners and was a key piece in the much-scrutinized trade that brought Robinson Cano back to New York for five players, including top prospect Jarred Kelenic. With Cano suspended, Jay Bruce retired, a struggling Kelenic demoted to Triple-A and Justin Dunn on the Mariners’ injured list, Diaz is the only one of the seven players enjoying active success.
But it was a long road after he converted just 32 of 43 saves combined for the 2019 and 2020 Mets. Diaz is ninth in MLB in saves — six of the eight closers ahead of him also play in the National League — but he and the Brewers’ unhittable Josh Hader are the only pitchers with at least 12 saves and no home runs allowed.
Mets who feel fan wrath due to failure to meet expectations in Year 1 do not often salvage their careers without a change of scenery. But Rojas, who was a quality control coach in 2019, has seen Diaz on both ends of the spectrum.
“This is a young, very talented pitcher,” he said. “He was struggling with something that he probably never went through in his career, and he did it in the city of New York. I think that made him a better person and a better pitcher. Going through this success right now is uplifting him and making one of the leaders in the clubhouse. I’m very excited for him. He’s in a really good spot right now. Just got to keep doing it.”