Robinson Cano finally delivered a clutch hit on Saturday, but his night ended soon after when he was double-switched out of a 5-4 loss to Atlanta.
Cano’s sixth-inning single gave the Mets their first lead, but he was removed for Seth Lugo to start the seventh, as manager Mickey Callaway looked to get two innings out of the right-hander.
Callaway admitted it was difficult to take the high-priced second baseman out after he’d started to show signs of breaking out of what has been essentially a season-long slump, but there was little other choice.
“It is [tough], but you have to do it right there to get Lugo to go two innings,’’ the manager said of Cano, who has multi-hit games in each of his past two starts and three of his past four. “Obviously, that didn’t work out, but that is tough. If they tie it up, his spot might come up again, but if you have the lead, that’s the chance you have to take.’’
And because these are the 2019 Mets, it didn’t work out, as Lugo gave up two homers that cost the Mets the game.
Steven Matz tried to get back into the game after throwing 27 pitches in the first two innings before the game was stopped for 70 minutes due to rain. He gave up two more runs in the first to push his first-inning ERA to 11.40 this season.
“I felt really good on the mound even if the results in the first inning weren’t there,’’ Matz said. “I just think maybe I’m shying away a little bit, trying to throw strikes instead of going right after guys. But I wouldn’t categorize today as one of those days. Just a couple ground balls through the infield.”
Jeurys Familia was doing “great” on Friday, according to Callaway, after his first rehab outing since being placed on the injured list on June 18 with a Bennett lesion in his right shoulder.
Familia, who has posted a 7.81 ERA in the first season of his second stint in Queens, was back at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon and close to rejoining the Mets bullpen.
“He was very efficient [in Friday’s outing],” Callaway said. “He threw the ball over the plate, came in today feeling really good.”
He may get another rehab outing, as will Justin Wilson. The southpaw hasn’t pitched since May 6 and was scratched from an outing with Triple-A Syracuse on June 18 with tightness in his elbow, but he will throw Sunday and determine whether he is ready to ramp up his return from the IL.
The results have hardly been inspiring, but Callaway said he’s been pleased with the job done by interim pitching coach Phil Regan after the 82-year-old took over for the fired Dave Eiland.
Regan was hired along with bullpen coach Ricky Bones, who replaced Chuck Hernandez.
“I think they’re doing a great job,’’ Callaway said. “They have a lot of outside the box things that they’re implementing.”
— Additional reporting by Howie Kussoy
