Mets' Edwin Diaz suggests he's fixed issue linked with recent woes

Shortly after New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz surrendered his second game-losing home run across three games on Wednesday night, he insisted his latest woes were related to his mechanics and had nothing to do with the pitch clock, his confidence or shoulder fatigue.

Diaz then delivered a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to close out Thursday's 3-2 win at the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he later told reporters he and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner had identified the problem.

"(Wednesday) I was coming home and trying to go toward third base and pulling myself to home plate, so my arm was a little bit longer," Diaz said after Thursday's victory, as shared by Ben Krimmel of SNY. "Today I was more to home plate, so my arm was quicker."

Diaz suffered four blown saves in May before he completed a stint on the injured list due to what was referred to as a shoulder impingement. While he still hasn't fully reclaimed the form that earned him the 2022 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award, he had mostly eased concerns about his dependability before he gave up a walk-off home run this past Sunday and before he surrendered an eighth-inning grand slam on Wednesday night.

"We are playing playoff games and this team needs me, so I gotta be ready every single day, I gotta do my job always," Diaz said about returning to the mound on Thursday. "Today was a good bounce-back, but I just have to keep going now, keep getting outs and keep winning games."

Diaz's importance to the Mets can't be overstated, as the club lacked bullpen depth even before right-hander Dedniel Nunez returned to the injured list Thursday (retroactive to Monday). New York (70-64) began Friday trailing the rival Atlanta Braves by three games in the battle for the NL's final wild-card playoff berth.

"We are chasing the playoff spot and we are close, we are really close, we just gotta keep playing really good games like we've been," Diaz added during his comments. "This was a great series for us, even losing (Wednes day) , we came back and won the series against a good team. We just gotta keep doing what we doing, and we'll be fine."

On Friday night, the Mets will begin a three-game series at a Chicago White Sox (31-104) side that, per SNY's Danny Abriano, may go down as the worst team in MLB history. This weekend should present Diaz with at least one more get-right opportunity against a club that seemingly can't end this season soon enough.