In his first save appearance in a week, Mets right-hander Edwin Diaz squandered another ninth-inning lead on Saturday but will remain New York’s closer.
“He’s our closer,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after a 7-2, 10-inning loss to the visiting San Francisco Giants. “In order for us to win games and get to where we want to get to, he’s got to pitch. And I felt like that was the right spot.”
Diaz, 30, who let a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning slip away on Saturday, has blown four consecutive ninth-inning save opportunities and hasn’t recorded a save since May 6.
Diaz isn’t the only reason the Mets have lost five straight and are 6-16 in May, but he’s received plenty of attention for his recent struggles.
Does he think he’s still the club’s closer?
“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “I think I got to do my job better, obviously, but I feel like I’m the guy in the ninth inning like they always say. I feel like that. And I’m ready. When they give me the ball in the ninth, I will do my job.”
Following last Saturday’s blown save in a loss to the Miami Marlins, Diaz didn’t pitch in the series against the Cleveland Guardians before returning to the mound Friday. He tossed a scoreless seventh inning against the Giants in an 8-7 loss.
A day later, Diaz couldn’t hold another lead but felt good about his execution.
“I’m fine. I’m good. I think I threw really good pitches,” Diaz said. “That’s what I want to do. The results didn’t go my way, but how I performed on the mound, how I looked, how I felt, was way better than last week.”
Diaz, who missed the 2023 season after injuring his knee at the World Baseball Classic, is 17-30 lifetime with a 3.03 ERA and 210 saves in 423 relief appearances for the Seattle Mariners (2016-18) and Mets. Diaz signed a five-year, $102 million deal in November 2022.