Ruben Tejada at third base? I don’t know. Let’s put the over/under line at 10 days for that one.
Then again, when the Mets broke camp in early April, did anyone have Jeurys Familia as their most likely All-Star?
Tejada’s seventh-inning, tie-breaking double Sunday catapulted the Mets to a 4-3 victory over the Marlins, preventing a three-game sweep by the visitors and completing a fine opening weekend as the latest competitor for the injured David Wright’s job. But the high point of this tense game, which engaged the announced crowd of 28,711, occurred a half-inning later when Terry Collins went to his closer Familia to get a five-out save with the tying run on first base.
His first batter? Giancarlo Stanton.
Familia struck out the ultra-dangerous Stanton on four pitches, and he worked through one more hit in the eighth and another in the ninth for his 15th save in 16 chances, setting off celebrations on the field and in the stands, and sending off the Mets to San Diego in a fine mood.
Amazingly, the Mets (28-23) trail the first-place Nationals (28-22) by just a half game in the National League East after the Nats suffered a sweep at the hands of the lowly Reds. You could argue the primary reason for that, spiritually if not statistically, is Familia.
“He’s throwing the ball unbelievable,” catcher Anthony Recker said. “He comes in and gets a five-out save right there, that’s so big. Especially with the heart of the order coming up when he comes in.”
“I just like to be in the game,” Familia said. “I don’t care who’s going to hit. I just want to do my job.”
Collins cared, and that’s why no scenario existed in which someone besides Familia would go after Stanton, who crushed a pair of homers Saturday, who hit third in the eighth. Not with this makeshift bullpen that has been devastated by injuries and Jenrry Mejia’s drug suspension. And Familia had last pitched Tuesday, a two-inning appearance in which he recorded the victory over Philadelphia, so the right-hander was sufficiently rested.
“I just thought, I’m going to put power against power and see what happens,” Collins said.
What happened didn’t last long: Ball one, a pair of sinkers Stanton swung through and then a nasty slider Stanton waved through to end the duel.
“He knows what he’s got and he know how to use it,” Recker said. “And he knows now it’s better than the hitters, so he just attacks them, and obviously it works.”
It marked Familia’s second five-out save of the season; he closed out Matt Harvey’s most recent victory, May 1 over the Nationals. For the season, which he began as Mejia’s setup man before Mejia went down on Opening Day with a right-elbow problem, he owns a 1.44 ERA, having struck out 30 and walked six in 24 appearances totaling 25 innings.
The 25-year-old credited Sunday’s winning pitcher Bartolo Colon and Mets bullpen coach Ricky Bones, who speaks Spanish, for helping him make the leap.
“It’s more mental than anything,” Colon said, with Bones interpreting. “I just talked to him about the bad days and good days. To stay focused, stay the same guy.”
“It is incredible, the adjustments he’s made both mentally and physically,” Collins said. “Bobby Parnell said it best when he saw him in Miami. He said he’s seen guys change and adjust. He said he’s never seen anyone do it as quickly as Jeurys has. He now thinks he’s the closer here, which he is.”
Yes, even if Parnell makes it back from Tommy John surgery, he has been Wally Pipped. You can’t demote a guy who’s recognized as one of the game’s best, and Familia, who trails league leaders Drew Storen of Washington and Santiago Casilla of San Francisco by just one save, has joined the elite.
Fittingly, the Smash Mouth song “All Star” played as the Mets dressed and packed for their trip. All the more reason to ask Familia about his chances.
“We’ll see,” he said, grinning. Yes, it of course would be meaningful, he said, before adding another “We’ll see.”
It’s always “We’ll see” in baseball. What we’ve seen from Familia, though, leads us to believe there’s some staying power in this surge.
