The Los Angeles Dodgers got to see Edwin Diaz in action for the first time since a tumultuous stint in Triple-A, and his outing inspired confidence.
Diaz, who was activated on Friday, returned to the majors the same day, ending a month on the sidelines.
He didn’t warm up until the Dodgers lit up the San Francisco Giants for five runs in the eighth inning, creating an 8-2 gap and a low-leverage chance for the Puerto Rican.
Then, Diaz got up, and eventually, the trumpets sounded at the top of the ninth inning.
He came in and had a good outing, allowing just one hit, no walks, and two punchouts.
More importantly than anything, there were no hard-hit balls for Diaz, something that he has struggled with, while avoiding walks.
Diaz’s fastball was the star of the show. It improved compared to earlier in the season, with 1.3 mph more on the pitch and an extra inch of horizontal and vertical break, according to Baseball Savant.
Not only did the pitch move well, but he controlled it well too. Diaz’s slider delivered well in terms of results, getting a 50% chase rate.
The slider had less drop and horizontal break by an inch each, something to monitor going forward, but based on just the game, it was good enough to complement the fastball.
Why Edwin Diaz needed a good outing
Diaz had two different stints on the injured list, one for his elbow surgery and another for neck inflammation, and has been bad at pretty much every turn.
In the major leagues, Diaz was riding an 11.85 ERA through 13.2 innings with a 5.81 FIP, signaling consistent struggles, per Baseball-Reference.
During his latest minor league stint, things were ugly again. He pitched 4.1 innings in Triple-A and posted an 11.00 ERA.
Given how things looked all year for Diaz, with more bad outings than good, the fanbase feared giving him another chance, and even Dave Roberts, who seemingly loves Diaz based on their interactions, challenged Diaz to produce good outings.
After Friday’s return, Roberts was quite happy.
“I think getting strike one, I think the fastball had that life, 96 is a lot different than 99, and it just seemed like his delivery was through the catcher, and the slider, once you have that fastball, the slider is pretty lethal,” Roberts said.
“He’ll be available tomorrow and we are trying to get him four or five start or outings before the end of the season.”
During those next outings, Diaz’s slider and results will remain under a microscope.
One Response
I am relieved to hear that Diaz wasn’t warming up until we had a good lead. Now I hope that 1 good inning doesn’t tempt Doc to think he’s proven himself. He can put him in a high leverage situation in a meaningless game but what happens to his confidence if he falters?
Put him in that situation when his confidence is already strong.