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Mets Dealt Major Blow before the season starts
(1:45)
The Mets fell to the Braves in 10 innings Saturday by a score of 5-3 (box score). The result means both Eastern NL contenders are 1-1 in the young season, and for the Mets that record of .500 comes despite the fact that their rotation still doesn’t allow for a career in 2020. The New York offensive has had difficulties. two games, and closer closer Edwin Diaz recalled his 2019 struggles on Saturday.
Diaz came to the Mariners Mets as part of Robinson Cano’s trade with the Mariners. At the time of the deal, he was an accomplished young closer with an extraordinarily bright future. In his first season with the Mets, he struck out 99 impressive hitters in 58 innings, but during that same span he also allowed 36 runs and 15 home runs, all of those home runs in the ninth inning. The Mets ended up winning 86 games, and it’s no exaggeration to say they probably would have made it to the postseason if Diaz and the bullpen had done better.
In the Mets ‘first game in 2020, Diaz struck out a pair as he picked up the save, and recorded the first two outs on Saturday before the Braves’ free agent Marcell Ozuna came to the plate with none and the Mets held on. to a 2- 1 lead The Mets had a 96.2 percent chance of winning the game when Diaz delivered a full-count fastball to Ozuna:
First of all, it’s not a bad pitch for Diaz. That’s 97 mph in the low, outside corner, but Ozuna just did it the other way around. At least Diaz did not.
The Braves went to plate three in the tenth, in part because William Contreras, younger brother of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, tied a double RBI in the first he saw in the majors:
As for Diaz, the prevailing reality is that he has now allowed 16 home runs in 60 innings with the Mets. A high-leverage reliever simply can’t afford the long ball to such an extent and keep his job (and his place on the list). Diaz is still 26 years old, and his fastball slider combo still ticks all the boxes in terms of things. The Mets, however, urgently need it to reign in ‘gopheritis’ if they are going to be relevant in the tough East of the National League this season.
