Mets bullpen near-perfect in first game without Edwin Diaz
The Mets bullpen passed their first test of the season without Edwin Diaz on Thursday.
The combination of Drew Smith, Brooks Raley and David Robertson combined to throw three scoreless innings to lock down the Mets’ 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Opening Day.
Manager Buck Showalter’s new-look bullpen put together a group effort in relief of Max Scherzer, who pitched six strong innings, to help the Mets start off on the right foot in 2023.
“I thought they did amazing, not giving up any runs,” Brandon Nimmo, who drove in three runs, said after the game. “Those are tough positions to come and fill in when you sign those contracts. Come into spring training to have this role and all of a sudden that changes. They showed mental fortitude and toughness today.”
Smith was in the Mets' bullpen last season, but Robertson and Raley are brand new additions. For the latter two, they were signed to bridge the gap to Diaz. Of course, Diaz suffered a knee injury that required surgery after a celebration went wrong during the World Baseball Classic.
Diaz will likely miss the season, and the Mets will miss their stud closer. Last season, the Mets were a perfect 89-0 when leading after eight innings and Diaz was a huge part of that. This season, Showalter will have to rely on some of these new faces to lock down those close games.
“Edwin is not replaceable,” Raley, who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, said. “We all recognize how great he is. As a group, we will be relied on individually to do different things. I thought we did a fantastic job to close it out.”
Raley pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out two on just 12 pitches. That followed a scoreless seventh when Smith worked around a leadoff single by striking out two batters of his own.
“They did exactly what we expected out of them,” Robertson said of Smith and Raley. “They both got electric stuff. They filled up the zone and got big strikeouts when they needed. We just pushed the ball to the next guy in line and got the win.”
Robertson was asked to get the first save of the Mets season and did so with ease. The 37-year-old struck out two and got through a 1-2-3 inning on 16 pitches. The Alabama native is used to this role, closing games for the Yankees, White Sox, Cubs and Phillies in the the past decade.
Signing with the Mets this offseason, Robertson will likely take the bulk of the closing duties for the team, but he and the others aren’t seeing this opportunity as a “who will be the closer?” situation. Instead, all three pitchers will look to get the outs they are asked to, wherever that falls.
“We know it’s going to be a group effort all year long. Hopefully the load doesn't go to one guy all the time and we can spread it around and keep everyone healthy,” Smith said. “I think we did a really good job today.”
Raley added: “We all know it’s about winning, however we get that done. We all want to throw with the game on the line, that’s what we sign up for as a reliever. Today was a good day for sure.”
“I’ll pitch whenever [Showalter] calls me,” Robertson said. “I did back-to-back in spring training and I’m used to doing multiple innings in the past. It doesn’t bother me. I’ll do whatever it takes to win some ball games.”
In this post-Diaz world, the Mets will take those words to heart as they try and navigate this season without their star closer. After Thursday, so far so good.
