Trumpets blare as Díaz hits 99 mph in return

NEW YORK -- Five hundred and thirty-seven days had passed since Edwin Díaz last climbed atop a Major League mound, and the circumstances -- if not the stakes -- were regrettably similar for the Mets. Díaz did not necessarily need to pitch on Saturday, just as he didn’t need to in Game 3 of the 2022 Wild Card series. There was no save situation. But the Mets were not about to let Díaz go a full week without pitching, just as they weren’t going to allow their season to end two years ago without deploying their best reliever.

So once again, they sounded the trumpets. Díaz came jogging through the bullpen gate, cueing most of the paid crowd of 30,296 to rise to its feet.

“It gave me chills,” Díaz said. “They love our team. They love me. And I was really, really, really happy when I started to hear everyone cheering and screaming.”

The scoreless appearance did not impact the result of a 7-6 Mets loss to the Brewers. Díaz’s revival wasn’t even the most dramatic moment in a game that saw Mets reliever Yohan Ramírez receive an ejection for throwing behind Rhys Hoskins.

But for Díaz, it was nonetheless significant. He admitted to nerves warming up for the appearance -- a rare occurrence for a decorated closer with more than 400 career appearances, but an understandable one.

“This was his first time out there back at Citi Field in front of the fans, and he gets a standing ovation,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I’m pretty sure he was feeling it after what he went through last year.”

What Díaz endured last year was a torn patellar tendon in his right knee during the World Baseball Classic, followed by emergency surgery to repair the joint. Initially hopeful that he might return to pitch in 2023, Díaz abandoned those dreams as the Mets fell out of contention. By late September, he was focused fully on completing his rehab program so he could enjoy something approximating a normal offseason.

While Díaz did exactly that, he was still missing that final checkmark of a big league appearance. Before Game 2 of the season, Díaz -- who hadn’t appeared in a game since March 24 -- told pitching coach Jeremy Hefner that he wanted to throw Saturday regardless of the score or situation. Hefner signed off on it. So Díaz began warming in the bottom of the eighth inning at Citi Field, despite the fact that the Mets were trailing by five runs.

Minutes later, Brett Baty hit a three-run homer to draw the Mets back within two. Díaz and other members of the bullpen celebrated.

“After Baty hit that homer, I knew the game was way closer than before,” Díaz said. “So I was making sure to throw my pitches the way I wanted to in the bullpen and throw strikes with my slider down in the zone. And that’s what I did. When I came into the game, I was really sharp.”

He looked like the Díaz of old, ramping his fastball up to 99 mph and spotting his aforementioned slider to leave himself with little left to prove. Díaz already passed the test of pitching on back-to-back days in Spring Training. And while the Mets are likely to be careful with him early this season, likely avoiding heavy workloads and multi-inning outings, they consider him a healthy player.

The trumpets will sound early and often this season. Saturday was the first of many such occurrences.

“Everything is normal,” Díaz said. “Finally, I came back and pitched. The training staff is really happy. I can’t wait to keep helping the team to see if we can win some games."