Aaron Heilman’s first chance as a closer was Tuesday, and it was an absolute mess. Last night, he was flawless.
Brought in to pitch the eighth inning last night with the Mets up three runs, Heilman closed out Florida with two perfect innings. In fact, he ripped through all six hitters he faced, earning the save in the Mets’ 3-0 win over the Marlins at Shea Stadium.
“He gets in and out of his rhythm every now and then, but he’s starting to get a lot of results out of his work with [pitching coach] Dan [Warthen] and the guys in the bullpen,” interim manager Jerry Manuel said. “Hopefully, he can be our guy.”
The save meant Heilman was successful in his second chance to finish a game with a lead since Billy Wagner went on the disabled list. Heilman was dreadful on Tuesday (albeit in a four-run non-save situation), surrendering three runs as Joe Smith and Scott Schoeneweis had to rescue him in a 6-5 victory over the Padres.
But last night, Heilman retired all six hitters, striking out three to earn his first save since last August.
Maybe it helped that he was facing the Marlins. In 11 innings against Florida this season, he has allowed no runs on just three hits and has racked up a staggering 18 strikeouts.
Since Tuesday’s disaster against San Diego, Heilman has been perfect, largely because of a mechanical change implemented Thursday that he said gives his pitches more zip and diving action. He retired both Padres he faced that day, and sailed through last night’s eighth with two groundouts and a strikeout.
Manuel decided to stay with Heilman in the ninth, and the right-hander said he wanted the ball.
“I felt good going back out there for the second inning,” he said.
Evidently. Heilman struck out Jorge Cantu and Josh Willingham before Dan Uggla lined out. It gave Heilman the Mets’ first two-inning save this season, though Manuel said he still will stick his closer-by-committee approach.
As for Wagner, he is allowed to pick up a ball today and said he will try to play catch. The All-Star closer is pain-free, though he admitted he doesn’t know if his strained forearm will be an issue after he returns.
