Carlos Mendoza never seriously considered going to Edwin Díaz for a second inning Saturday, despite his low pitch count.
The Mets closer threw just seven pitches in a scoreless 10th, but he wasn’t going to get a chance at the 11th anyway.
Instead, Tyler Rogers came in and was tagged for a two-run, inside-the-park Daylen Lile home run in the Mets’ 5-3 loss to the last-place Nationals at Citi Field.
“He pitched two nights ago, got hot yesterday,” Mendoza said. “We’re only [using him] for one inning today.”
Rogers had pitched well, allowing just one earned run over his past 7 ²/₃ innings.
But after retiring Andrés Chaparro on a groundout to start the inning, Lile blasted a 2-2 fastball off the wall in center field.
Tyrone Taylor said his injured left hamstring feels 100 percent, making his return at some point early next week seem likely.
The center fielder will play in another minor league game Sunday for Triple-A Syracuse and could be activated ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Cubs in Chicago.
He played six innings in center for Syracuse on Friday night and went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
An elite defender, Taylor was getting hot when he hurt his hamstring, with a slash line of .367/.441/.500 across 34 trips to the plate in August.
Meanwhile, veterans Cedric Mullins and Jose Siri have struggled in his absence. Taylor was placed on the injured list Sept. 2, retroactive to Aug. 30.
“I know, bad timing, man,” Taylor said. “But at the end of the day, it is what it is. All I can do is focus on getting ready and getting to where I was at as soon as possible. So that’s what I’m doing.”
The Mets made what feels like their daily bullpen move, signing left-hander Richard Lovelady to the major league roster and designating Wander Suero for assignment.
Lovelady appeared in six games earlier this season with the Mets, allowing six earned runs in 6 ²/₃ innings.
Mendoza said Lovelady was added to the roster in part because of the Nationals’ bevy of left-handed hitters and the heavy recent workloads of southpaw relievers Brooks Raley and Gregory Soto.
Lovelady threw a scoreless inning of relief Saturday.
Decisions have yet to be made for right-handed pitchers Tylor Megill and Reed Garrett, according to Mendoza.
Megill has a sprained UCL ligament and is going for an in-person visit with a doctor in Los Angeles. Tommy John surgery is possible.
Garrett has a strained ligament in his elbow and still is gathering opinions from different doctors on the best course of action.
The Orioles claimed Dom Hamel off waivers from the Mets. He was designated for assignment Thursday after making his big league debut. Baltimore assigned the 26-year-old right-hander to Triple-A Norfolk.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
