When Dalton Rushing hit a grand slam against the Mets on Wednesday night, Edwin Diaz had conflicting feelings.
On one hand, he was overjoyed for Rushing, the second-year catcher who has made the most of his limited playing time as Will Smith ’s backup.
On the other hand …
“I wanted to go in the game,” a chuckling Diaz said in Spanish.
Rushing’s home run had turned a save situation into a blowout. With a series in hitter-friendly Colorado set to start on Friday, manager Dave Roberts elected not to use Diaz in the ninth inning, even though he hadn’t pitched in five days.
Diaz, the former Mets star who signed with Los Angeles on a $69 million contract this offseason, consoled himself with a reminder the Dodgers will play his former team again in late July, this time in New York.
He said he’s confident that will happen, downplaying the issues with his surgically repaired knee that sidelined him for most of last week.
“I feel ready to continue pitching,” he said.
Deactivate the alarm bells — for now.
Diaz’s improved status should be a major relief for the Dodgers. Of their early-season concerns, Diaz’s health could be the most impactful. The Dodgers can win without Kyle Tucker performing like an MVP-caliber hitter or Roki Sasaki pitching like a major leaguer.
Being able to count on Diaz to close games, however, is critical for a team whose bullpen was a weakness for extended periods last season. With the ninth inning spoken for, Roberts has been able to deploy Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen in favorable situations. The Dodgers’ bullpen ERA is 3.24, fourth best in the National League.
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Diaz blew his first save of the season in his most recent appearance, which was against the Rangers in the opening game of the Dodgers’ recently completed homestand.
He said he experienced discomfort in his right knee, which he injured in a celebration at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
“After what happened to my knee,” he said, “it sometimes feels a little weak.”
But not like this.
“I knew that something wasn’t right,” he said. “I’ve been pitching for many years, and I know my repertoire. I felt the ball wasn’t jumping out of my hand.”
He averaged 95.5 mph with his fastball, down from 97.2 mph last year. His slider was flat.
“I didn’t have either pitch that day,” Diaz said. “I didn’t have velocity and life on my fastball. There was no life on my fastball. It was dead.”
He knew something wasn’t right when he gave up a homer to Evan Carter .
“I almost never give up a home run on an inside fastball to a left-handed hitter,” he said.
Diaz alerted the training staff of what he felt, which led to him taking a couple of days off. He said he was ready to pitch Tuesday in the second game of the three-game series against the Mets, but that the team asked him to test his knee in a bullpen session.
Feeling back to normal, Diaz was ready to pitch in the series finale the next day, and he went as far as to warm up. Then, Rushing homered.
Before the opening game of the series, Diaz had a chance to catch up with Mets owner Steve Cohen, who said in February that he was perplexed by Diaz’s decision to leave his team and sign with the Dodgers over the winter.
“We have a good relationship,” Diaz said. “He understands this is a business.”
“We talked about many things. We didn’t talk about my decision. We talked about our families, how he was doing, how the boys were doing. My relationship with Steve goes beyond sports. They treated me really well in New York, and we always had good communication.”
