Mets closer Edwin Diaz did not get off to the start he wanted after entering Game 4 of the NLDS on Wednesday night.
Protecting a 4-1 lead, Diaz started the ninth inning all over the place control-wise, walking J.T. Realmuto and Bryson Stott to bring the tying run to the plate with no one out.
It was at that point that Jeremy Hefner and the infielders met with Diaz on the mound. During their discussion, Hefner told Diaz to trust his fastball, and Francisco Lindor echoed the same thing.
After that, Diaz locked in, striking out the next three batters he faced, culminating things by blowing a 101 mph past Kyle Schwarber to end the game and send the Mets to the NLCS.
While Diaz was able to escape trouble on Wednesday, his command has been off in all three of his postseason appearances.
He walked two batters while tossing 1.2 scoreless innings against the Brewers in Milwaukee in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, walked one and surrendered two hits and three runs in Game 2 of the NLDS in Philadelphia, and then walked two more in an inning of work in Game 4.
Speaking on Friday, Diaz told reporters he knows the cause of his recent control issues.
“I think I’m trying to be too perfect, instead of going after hitters like I usually do,” Diaz explained. “Maybe my mentality changed a little bit, but I gotta go back to my old mentality — like I did in Milwaukee. My first inning was a little bit shaky in Milwaukee. And then when I talked to the guys in the dugout, they said the same thing — trust your stuff and go after the hitters. And I had a really good inning.
“I didn’t do it my first couple hitters [against the Phillies in Game 4], and then when they talked to me again, I did it. So that’s something I gotta have in mind always now — go after hitters, throw my stuff, and I will be fine.”
In the outing in Milwaukee that Diaz is referring to, he entered in the seventh inning and walked two of the first three batters he faced. After that, Diaz settled in, striking out William Contreras swinging to end the seventh. He then had a perfect eighth inning, striking out Willy Adames swinging, getting Gary Sanchez to ground out to first base, and fanning Jake Bauers swinging.
A huge key going forward will be Diaz again harnessing his slider. He threw 17 fastballs to six sliders against the Phillies in Game 4. Four of those sliders were taken for balls, one was a called strike, and one was hit foul.
If Diaz’s confidence in his slider returns, he could be close to unhittable — as he was from Aug. 29 to Sept. 29, when ha had a 0.63 ERA (0.31 FIP) with 28 strikeouts in 14.1 innings over 14 games while holding hitters to a .122/.204/.122 slash line.
Read the full article here