WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Edwin Díaz’s mini-slump isn’t sounding alarm bells just yet with Mets officials.
The Mets closer had a second straight shaky outing Friday, when he allowed two earned runs in the ninth inning before escaping with the save, but pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is satisfied enough with the underlying numbers to dismiss any concerns.
“Overall, the stuff and the spin rates and all those things are pretty normal,” Hefner said of Díaz before the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the A’s.
On Friday night, Díaz — who touched 99 mph with his four-seam fastball — walked two lefty batters to fuel the A’s rally.
After beginning the season with four straight scoreless appearances, he entered Saturday with five earned runs allowed over his previous two outings.
Included was a Wednesday appearance against the Marlins in which he was removed with two outs in the ninth inning after surrendering three runs.
Díaz said he struggled to grip the ball on a 44-degree day at Citi Field.
“I’m kind of completely dismissing that one,” Hefner said.
If anything, Díaz might just need a slight mechanical adjustment, according to Hefner.
“There might be some stuff with his delivery that is slightly different, that’s causing a few more misses in — a two-ball count or three-ball count that makes it seem worse than it actually is,” Hefner said. “We’ll work on that.”
Jesse Winker was dealing with flu-like symptoms, according to manager Carlos Mendoza, allowing Starling Marte to receive the start at DH against right-hander J.T. Ginn.
Luis Torrens lobbied to start Saturday — returning to the lineup the previous game after missing much of the previous week with a forearm contusion — but Mendoza opted for Hayden Senger in the matinee following a night game.
The Mets are scheduled to face former teammate Luis Severino in Sunday’s series finale.
The right-hander was a key piece of last year’s team that advanced within two victories of the World Series.
“[Severino] meant a lot to us,” Mendoza said. “This is a guy that competes and he’s a great guy in the clubhouse. He was everything you could ask for in a player.”
