Mets fans danced through the pain.
The trumpets were out and the crowd was clapping and on its feet to welcome Edwin Diaz back to the mound, the long-awaited return of the beloved and dominant closer.
But amid the joy was the context that the Mets trailed by two runs.
Still, Diaz entered to the frills and fanfare that helped him become more than a pitcher — a rare spectacle in MLB, with entrances that bring parties into Queens — and pitched a clean top of the ninth inning in a 7-6 loss to the Brewers at Citi Field on Saturday.
“It was great, I felt really happy,” Diaz said. “A little bit anxious, I can’t lie to you guys. But I did my job.”
Diaz had not pitched in the majors since Oct. 9, 2022, when he shut down the Padres for a frame in Game 3 of the NL wild-card series loss.
His 2023 season — and arguably the Mets’ — ended before it began, tearing a patellar tendon during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Nearly 18 months later, the fireballing righty jogged out to “Narco,” the highly danceable anthem that was missing from Citi Field all of last season.
With the crowd on its feet, Diaz got Rhys Hoskins to pop up — the first Mets pitcher of the day to retire the hated former Phillie — and Joey Ortiz to line out.
Brice Turang singled and stole second and third base, but Diaz used a nasty slider to strike out Jackson Chourio to escape danger.
Diaz said he felt “chills” when running to the mound for the 405th time in his career but first post-surgery.
“I’m pretty sure he was feeling it after what he went through last year,” said manager Carlos Mendoza, who witnessed the show in the home dugout for the first time.
Diaz was pitching not just because the Mets wanted to keep the game close but because he had not thrown since Sunday and asked for some work.
Eighteen pitches later, Diaz could call himself a major league pitcher again.
Loud cheers welcomed Diaz back, but silence soon followed.
The Mets clawed within one run on a Pete Alonso home run but could not tie the game in the bottom of the ninth.
“Can’t wait to keep helping the team to see if we can win some games,” Diaz said.
