NEW YORK (AP) — Edwin Díaz was activated from the injured list Thursday by the New York Mets, and manager Carlos Mendoza reiterated the struggling reliever will immediately return to the closer role.
“I talked to him a couple of days ago and he’s ready to go,” Mendoza said before the finale of a three-game series against Miami. “There’s no hesitation. (He said), ‘I’m ready to go.’ So it was an easy conversation.”
With the Mets trailing by one run, Díaz entered in the ninth and tossed a perfect inning with one strikeout. He threw 15 pitches and averaged 98.4 mph on his seven four-seam fastballs.
Díaz got the win when J.D. Martinez hit
a two-run homer off Tanner Scott in the bottom of the ninth to give New York a 3-2 comeback victory.
“I’m feeling 100 percent,” Díaz said. “I was throwing 99, 100 (mph) today. I didn’t do that earlier in the season.”
To open a roster spot, the Mets optioned Danny Young to Triple-A Syracuse — leaving Jake Diekman as the only left-hander in the bullpen. Young was 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in nine appearances for New York, striking out 12 in nine innings.
“Obviously, Danny Young has been great. He’s a guy that not only gets lefties out, but righties, and his ability to take the ball day in and day out,” Mendoza said. “But he understood where we were bullpen-wise. Not many guys have (minor league) options.”