#Mets’ Edwin Diaz flops in return from paternity leave

PHILADELPHIA — Edwin Diaz’s return from the paternity list should have been an “Oh, baby!” moment for the Mets on Friday, but instead turned into a messy diaper.

The Mets closer entered to a one-run deficit in the eighth inning, but before it was finished, that hole became deeper. Bryce Harper launched a two-run homer off Diaz that buried the Mets in their 4-2 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Diaz was summoned for the eighth, according to manager Luis Rojas, because he hadn’t pitched since last Saturday. The right-hander departed the team before Wednesday’s game for the birth of his second son, Sebastian.

“The five days without pitching, we had to get him in there,” Rojas said. “We can’t let him go more than that, he can lose his command. He didn’t have that command.”

Jean Segura hit a grounder off Jonathan Villar’s glove at third base to start the inning (it was ruled a single) before Harper smashed a no-doubter over the center-field fence.

“Harper takes a 99 [mph fastball] to the deepest part of the ballpark,” Rojas said. “But I thought [Diaz] was throwing strikes and that is why we wanted him to come in for that situation and make sure he gets in there and it wasn’t more than five days without pitching. He usually gets really bad command wise when he sits over five days, so we were looking to get him in there.”

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Tomas Nido’s playing time behind the plate has steadily increased to the point the Mets once again have a job share.

On Friday, Nido started at catcher for the third time in less than a week, and Rojas said he plans to continue that approach. With James McCann slumping in mid-May, the Mets utilized Nido, who went 0-for-2 with a walk before he was pinch-hit for in the ninth, more often for several weeks before reverting to a more traditional setup.

“I didn’t tell [McCann] go work extra, which is what the message was back in May when we were [at] Tampa [Bay],” Rojas said before the Mets faced the Phillies. “I just told him Nido would be catching a little more, not necessarily more than him, I didn’t say that or one and one, but we’ll communicate the next day.”

Neither catcher has excelled offensively, but Nido’s pitch framing has been superior to McCann’s this season, according to Statcast. For Friday’s game with Marcus Stroman on the mound, Rojas noted Nido’s ability to dig sinkers out of the dirt.

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Jordan Yamamoto, who has been sidelined since May after sustaining a shoulder injury, has been throwing bullpen sessions and could be in position to start facing hitters in the next week or two. The right-hander Yamamoto could provide the Mets with rotation depth for the season’s final month. As it stands the Mets have Trevor Williams (who was acquired on July 30, with Javier Baez, from the Cubs) as their primary rotation depth at Syracuse.

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The Phillies are celebrating their Wall of Fame weekend, which will culminate Sunday, when the team will retire No. 34 in honor of the late Roy Halladay, who pitched for them from 2010-2013 and will unveil a statue in his honor. The Phillies also will honor late team president David Montgomery and former second baseman Manny Trillo this weekend.