On the season, his xBA, whiff rate, strikeout rate, and hard hit rate, among other important analytics, are all above the league’s 90th percentile. This has culminated in an xERA, FIP, and xFIP all being well under his 3.49 season ERA. Basically, Díaz has been a victim of some bad luck throughout the season.
Well, on Saturday, none of this bad luck came to bite him. Díaz entered in the eighth inning with the game’s tying run in the batter’s box. He got behind left-handed slugger Kyle Schwarber in the count, 3-1, before getting Schwarber to swing and miss at a slider to make the count full. Díaz then executed a perfect 3-2 fastball at 99 mph on the corner that stranded the runner at second and preserved the Mets’ two-run lead into the ninth.