New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz threw a clean inning and earned the win against the Miami Marlins (box score) on Thursday night in what served as his first appearance since late May. He had been sidelined for more than two weeks because of a right shoulder impingement.
Díaz checked into the game to pitch the ninth inning with the Mets trailing 2-1. He induced a ground out by Tim Anderson, punched out Otto López and then generated another ground out from Christian Bethancourt. In total, Díaz delivered 11 of his 15 pitches for strikes. He averaged 98.4 mph on his heater, up 1.4 mph on his seasonal average, per Statcast.
As mentioned above, the Mets came to bat in the ninth trailing 2-1. Designated hitter J.D. Martinez subsequently launched a walk-off two-run home run against lefty Tanner Scott to seal the win.
Díaz, 30, entered Thursday having compiled a 5.40 ERA (72 ERA+) and a 4.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 20 appearances. Eight of his 14 runs allowed this season had crossed the plate over a five-appearance stretch prior to his deactivation that also saw him blow three save attempts.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters on Wednesday that Díaz will be used as New York's closer despite his May struggles.
"For us to make a run at this, we're going to need Díaz to be Edwin Díaz," Mendoza said. "We've been trying to piece it together for the past month or so. He feels good physically and mentally, so comfortable with him going back to the closer spot."
The Mets, with Thursday's victory, are now 30-37 on the year. That includes a 6-4 start to June following a miserable May that saw them go 9-19 with a number of disappointing developments.