Philadelphia – Can a savior save a large number of leagues and still be strong one season?
Success is defined in different ways, especially for those who are relieved, and it is difficult for the meds to deny the number of Edwin Diaz. Of those, entering Wednesday, there was a 1.80 Era and the MLB had an excellent strikeouts-per-nine innings rate of 18-9. But then there was the fact that he blew four savings in just seven attempts.
“I know we won two games out of the four savings developed and we lost two,” Diaz said through an interpreter before facing the Mets Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. “So what I’m trying to do is help the team stay in the game so they can win that game and then finally help them make the playoffs on the road.”
This barely coincides with Diaz’s devastating first season with the Mets, in which he surrendered 15 homers in 58 innings and put in a 5.59 ERA. Diaz returned home to Puerto Rico with a commitment to reform, and he succeeded.
Overall, he is the strongest link in the bullpen that lost Seth Lugo last month to fill the void in the initial rotation. But that didn’t help Diaz’s cause that one of his meltdown subway series came at Yankee Stadium. With Aaron Hicks allowing Homer to go ahead, the right-hander made six appearances on Wednesday without entering or scoring a run.
He was asked if there was anything in the idea that pitching Bullparks to absent fans this season has eased the pressure and helped it to thrive.
“I don’t think that’s the case,” Diaz said. “As professional athletes we expect to have fans at the ballpark and that’s how we prepare ourselves. Not this se fis ason – I know last season didn’t go the way I wanted – I prepared myself harder and with this expectation there will be fans in the ballpark as well.
“I think if we had fans this year, the result would be the same as the one I just got, because I’ve worked so hard for these results.”
A turn for Diaz could come after a shaky performance against the Red Sox at the start of the season. Diaz, who did not take five days, told manager Luis Rojas that he needed to work more frequently. Rojas, until last week, every other day, has largely stuck to the schedule of Diaz pitching. When Diaz entered Tuesday’s game he hadn’t entered in almost a week.
But Diaz, who struck next to his innings against the Phillies, said he was throwing his bullpen as if it were a game situation.
“[Diaz] We worked hard to reach this point, “said Roges. “Their confidence level is really high. It is matching content. We always heard that his stuff was electric. There was a game [against Boston] He was really passionate about it when he was performing and he didn’t get strike calls. There were different things going on and I think things are going a little too fast for him, but I think this guy has done a great job of just adjusting to come back.
“There’s one thing he told us, just that, ‘I want to know more.’ When you get used to a close role there are sometimes certain situations where you won’t come in four or five consecutive days, which just happened to him. He told us we could use it better, and we would Challenged, said we would use it first, in different situations when he came in, and he showed up every time. “
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