Mets player Edwin Diaz makes his eighth save after his suspension

All-Star closer Edwin Diaz returned to the New York Mets on Saturday and was cleared after serving his 10-game suspension from Major League Baseball for a foreign object stuck to his throwing hand.

Diaz pitched a scoreless ninth inning to end a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, his eighth save in 12 opportunities this season.

The inning began with Diaz hitting Oneil Cruz with a pitch. However, Diaz settled down and retired the next two batters, including Andrew McCutchen, who turned a ground ball into a game-ending double play.

“I was a little nervous at first,” Diaz said. “I just started throwing strikes and stopped trying to be perfect. Once I got the hit-by-pitch, I just tried to hit my pitches.”

During his suspension, Diaz was allowed to practice with the team before games, but was not allowed to be in the locker room, dugout or bullpen after the game began.

Diaz was ejected from the Mets’ 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on June 24. The right-hander came on in the ninth inning to secure the win for the Mets, but was ejected by third-base umpire Vic Carapazza before throwing a pitch after his glove and throwing hand were examined.

“I put it behind me that day,” Diaz said of his suspension. “I apologized to my teammates after the game. I came back today and did my job and I want to continue to do my job.”

Diaz initially considered appealing the ban, but decided against it.

“We just didn’t think it was worth fighting with MLB over,” Diaz said. “I talked to management and the coaches, and we just wanted to move on. It was tough sitting out the game because I always thought I should be there, I should be there.”

Although Diaz accepted the suspension, he continues to insist he did nothing wrong, saying he used the same mixture of rosin, sweat and dirt that night in Chicago as he does at every other game.

“I don’t feel guilty about taking the same stuff I always took,” Diaz said. “They say I did something different, but I didn’t.”

Diaz has a 2-1 record and a 4.50 ERA in 24 games this season.

Diaz was an All-Star in 2021, when he had a 1.31 ERA and 32 saves in 61 games, but he missed last season after suffering a knee injury in the World Baseball Classic while celebrating a Puerto Rico victory over the Dominican Republic.

The Mets went 5-5 during Diaz’s suspension, but the bullpen struggled. New York had won 10 of 12 games before the suspension.

“Getting him back is huge for us,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Now some of the guys can move back into other roles where they’re pitching sixth, seventh and eighth.”

The Mets also acquired the contract of right-hander Greg Orze from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday and traded right-hander Ty Adcock to the same club.

This is Orze’s first appearance in the major leagues. After overcoming skin and testicular cancer while at the University of New Orleans, Orze was selected by the Mets in the fifth round of the 2020 draft.

Orze, 26, pitched in 26 games for Syracuse and had a 3.76 ERA and two saves.

“He’s been through a lot in his life and now he’s a major league player,” Mendoza said. “It’s something very special.”

Adcock scored six runs and three home runs in 1 1/3 innings in the Mets’ 14-2 loss to the Pirates on Friday night.