Mariners’ Diaz shows signs of regaining his form

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 28, 2017

CLEVELAND — A little tweak in his delivery. A little more work. And suddenly Mariners closer Edwin Diaz is looking a lot like last season’s rookie sensation.

“The first couple of outings,” Diaz said, “I had a little trouble with my mechanics. Now I’m straight on to home plate, and my fastball is better, and my slider is better. “

That’s the tweak.

Diaz was pulling his pitches earlier in the season, which particularly affected his ability to control his slider. That allowed hitters to sit on his fastball and, even in the upper-90s, it wasn’t enough to neutralize hitters.

“He’s trying to keep his line to the plate better,” manager Scott Servais said. “He was able (Thursday) to command his fastball to the glove side. He had been losing it a lot with balls going up to the arm side.”

Servais recently cited the importance for Diaz to pitch regularly — even if that work comes in non-save situations.

“You just don’t want him down too many days in a row,” Servais said. “We saw the benefit (Thursday) of him pitching the day before. He was very sharp (Thursday).”

Diaz pitched in just four of 17 games before closing out Wednesday’s 8-0 victory in Detroit with a “get work” inning. He returned Thursday and protected a 2-1 victory with an 11-pitch inning that included two strikeouts.

“Eddie is getting real sharp and crisp,” Servais said. “We’re going to give him consistent work. That’s really important as young as he is. When he’s right, he’s as good as it gets.”

It’s more than just work, though.

“Part of it, too, is he needs to come up with a consistent routine,” Servais said. “All of the good relief pitchers, certainly closers, have a routine. Something they’re doing in the fourth inning, the sixth inning and working their way to being ready.”