New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz fondly recalled his three seasons in Seattle before the opener of a three-game interleague series against the Mariners on Friday night.
But Diaz wasn’t needed, as Seattle’s Bryce Miller pitched six scoreless innings to keep the Mets at bay in a 6-0 victory.
The Mets hope Diaz’s services will be required when the three-game series continues Saturday night.
“I got really good memories here. I remember I made my debut here,” Diaz said. “I think that’s the biggest memory I have is when I came up in 2016, my first game was here at Safeco.”
Of course, the ballpark has changed names since then, going from Safeco Field to T-Mobile Park.
Diaz was an All-Star in 2018 with the Mariners when he led the major leagues with 57 saves. He was traded along with second baseman Robinson Cano to the Mets that offseason as Seattle entered into a “step-back” plan.
“He’s a special guy. He really is. When you see young players like that come to the big leagues that come out of our system play such a big impact for our team at the time,” said Mariners manager Scott Servais, who was in his first season in Seattle when Diaz made his debut. “It was a phenomenal season he had for us (in 2018). It just seemed like he found his stride.”
Diaz was a National League All-Star in 2022 before missing all of last season after being injured in the World Baseball Classic. He has 14 saves in 33 appearances this season, despite missing time with a shoulder injury.
“After that (first) season everything went fine for me,” Díaz said. “I’ve been able to perform the way I want in New York. They go see the numbers; they can see I’ve been able to do my work.”
Despite Friday’s loss, the Mets remain a half-game ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the chase for the NL’s third and final wild-card playoff berth.
The Mariners, who are tied with Houston atop the American League West, got big contributions from their Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, rookies Ryan Bliss and Leo Rivas, on Friday.
Second baseman Bliss hit a two-run homer in the second inning to open the scoring and shortstop Rivas added a two-run single in the seventh. They also turned a key double play in the seventh inning with the Mariners clinging to a 2-0 lead.
“Can’t say enough about the guys in the middle of the field tonight, the little guys,” Servais said. “What Bliss and Rivas did, they didn’t get out of their game.”
Mets starter Jose Quintana retired 14 batters in a row after Bliss’ homer but walked Mitch Garver leading off the seventh to spark a four-run rally.
“Obviously, when you look at the box score he gave up five, but he pitched way better than the line score,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He was one strike away from giving us seven innings in a two-run ballgame.”
Saturday’s matchup is scheduled to feature Mets left-hander Sean Manaea (8-4, 3.30 ERA) against Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert (6-8, 3.05).
Manaea has won his past two starts, pitching seven scoreless innings with double-digit strikeouts in a 2-0 victory against Minnesota and a 6-0 win at St. Louis. He is 8-7 with a 3.73 ERA in 17 career appearances against the Mariners, including 16 starts.
Gilbert has lost all three of his starts since being named to the AL All-Star team, though he allowed just one earned run in two of those. Gilbert is 0-0 with a 1.35 ERA in one previous start against the Mets.
–Field Level Media