Edwin Diaz is more than a closer in the majors with cool entrance music. He’s a dominant closer in the majors and happens to also have cool entrance music.
The Mets, despite an injury-riddled 2021 season, find themselves as frontrunners in the National League East division. Diaz has been an essential piece to the puzzle.
Wednesday night, in New York’s 7-3 win over Atlanta, Diaz recorded five outs to record his 16th save of the season. That’s 16 saves in 17 opportunities for the right-hander.
He’s reeled off seven straight conversions, posting a 1.08 ERA over that stretch.
Diaz is not only getting the job done in the ninth inning, he’s earned the trust of manager Luis Rojas to call on him early for help in the eighth innings.
The Mets have used Diaz three times this season in the eighth inning with a lead. He’s come up aces in each appearance with three saves.
“Díaz has been great this whole year,” Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “He comes in and he lights it up.”
Did I mention the cool entrance music?
Diaz is having a resurgence in 2021
It’s a sharp turn from the inconsistent 2019 season Diaz put in. It was his first year with the Mets and the right-hander struggled mightily.
He blew seven saves, lost seven games, and posted an alarming 5.59 ERA.
The following season saw signs of a resurgence from Diaz. He allowed only one run in his final 12 save appearances. 2020, however, was a truncated 60-game season due to the coronavirus pandemic. There were also no fans in the ballpark for those games.
But that resurgence has carried over into the first half of this year. Diaz has the look of a confident closer coming out of the bullpen.
The confidence, which left him in 2019, appears to be back. His fastball tops out at 101 mph and combines with a nasty slider to keep opposing hitters off balance.
The 27-year old is also keeping the ball inside the park this season. In 2019, he gave up a career-high 15 home runs in 66 appearances. This season, through 30 appearances, he’s allowed zero home runs.
With Diaz racking up saves, the Mets have been able to maintain a balanced bullpen. Their pitching staff ranks second in the National League with a 3.11 ERA (earned run average).
In 2018, while with the Seattle Mariners, Diaz racked up 57 saves and made the All-Star team. This season, he looks just as dominant and deserving of another All-Star selection.
Image: Charles Wenzelberg
