CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 06: Pitching coach Mark Prior of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 06, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Díaz keeps Mets fans on edge of their seats for his saves
If the Mets are going to win the World Series this year — and they are still the hardest seven victories in this world away from doing that — they might very well need Edwin Díaz to get the last three outs the way he did on Monday afternoon against the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth. The experience won’t be stress-free for Diaz or the Mets or their fans. But that is part of the deal with him, whether he’s dealing the way he was at the end against the Dodgers or not.
Díaz reminds you of a wonderful line about an All-Star closer of Earl Weaver’s with the Orioles back in the late ’70s, Don Stanhouse.
“He doesn’t suffer from stress,” Earl said of Stanhouse. “He’s a carrier.”
Even in what turned out to be a 7-3 Game 2 win for the Mets — if you watched the game, you know the final score doesn’t tell the whole story of this one — Díaz was both dazzling and maddening at the same time. He came on with two outs in the eighth, when it was still 6-3 for the Mets and got Kiké Hernández to fly out to right field with Max Muncy on third and Tommy Edman on second.
