BREAKING NEWS: Mets aware of uphill battle following Díaz’s latest misfire

The Mets are acknowledging the tough road ahead following Edwin Díaz’s recent misstep.

The situation was ideal for the Mets: a late-game lead, some momentum, and their top reliever on the mound in a crucial National League Wild Card matchup.

“You always feel confident with your closer on the mound and a chance to win,” said manager Carlos Mendoza.

However, things quickly soured. With a runner on base and two outs in the eighth inning on Wednesday, Díaz struggled with control, throwing eight of his first 10 pitches as balls. With the bases loaded, he threw a slider that Corbin Carroll hit for a go-ahead grand slam.

The Diamondbacks soon completed an 8-5 victory over the Mets, further damaging New York’s Wild Card prospects. The Mets now trail the Braves by four games with 29 remaining, a deficit that’s challenging but not insurmountable.

“It’s a tough loss today,” Díaz said. “We had it. We had it. We’ve got to keep playing baseball and see where we end up at the end of the season.”

This season, Díaz has contributed to three losses and six blown saves, mostly occurring in two distinct periods. In June, he blew four saves in eight appearances, leading to a stint on the injured list for a right shoulder impingement. Although he was mostly solid upon his return, he allowed a walk-off homer in a tie game against San Diego this past Sunday.

Three days later, Mendoza called upon Díaz in the eighth inning in Phoenix. Despite a limited start from Luis Severino, who was injured by a comebacker earlier in the game, and setup man Dedniel Núñez being unavailable due to forearm tightness, the Mets managed to secure a one-run lead and position Díaz for the save. But it all unraveled quickly.

“He threw me a slider that ended up right in the middle of the plate, and that was it,” Carroll said.

In his first season back from March 2023 surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, Díaz now has a 4.30 ERA, more than three times higher than his 1.31 mark in his last healthy season in 2022. He has blown twice as many save opportunities in less than half the innings.

“My slider is floating in the zone,” Díaz said, attributing the issue to a mechanical flaw causing him to lean toward third base rather than maintaining a straight line to home plate.

Díaz is just one part of a struggling bullpen that has already lost Brooks Raley and Drew Smith to season-ending elbow surgeries and now has only two of its Opening Day members remaining. José Buttó, a midseason surprise, has faltered recently, and Núñez’s injury status remains unclear.

For the Mets to make a late push up the standings, they need to resolve these bullpen issues sooner rather than later.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Both Mendoza and Díaz expressed belief in the closer’s ability to bounce back following Wednesday’s loss.

However, time is running out.

The Mets’ four-game deficit behind the Braves for the final NL Wild Card spot is their largest since June 8, when they were nine games under .500. Although they’ve managed to split six games with the Padres and Diamondbacks out West—teams they’re competing with in the Wild Card race—they need to perform better against strong teams to close the gap.

Losing winnable games on Sunday and Wednesday has placed the Mets in a difficult position.

“We’ve got an uphill battle for sure,” outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. “San Diego, Arizona, and Atlanta are all playing really well at the right time. For us to get in, one of those teams will need to falter, and we need to take advantage. Right now, none of them are showing signs of doing that.”