DEJA ` ` BLEW!
T is is sta ti g t g t Familia as M ts cl s im l d s agai
It was a brutal 18-hour stretch for Mets closer Jeurys Familia. It started Wednesday night (inset) when he blew his first save of the season in a 5-4 loss to the Cardinals, and it concluded Thursday afternoon when he allowed two more runs in the ninth as the Mets fell 2-1 to the Rockies.
If this Mets season erodes into a steaming heap of rubble, an 18-hour stretch in which Jeurys Familia shed his Superman cape for street clothes might be remembered as the genesis.
The AllStar closer had gone nearly a calendar year without a blown save in the regular season, but Thursday suffered his second in as many games, keeping his underwhelming lineup on the hook for its recent ineptitude.
“I don’t have an excuse to say,” Familia said after allowing two runs in the ninth in the Mets’ 2-1 loss to the Rockies at Citi Field. “Things went wrong for me and I lost the game today and try to win tomorrow.”
A day after allowing two runs in the ninth in a loss to the Cardinals that ended his regular-season streak at 52 straight saves dating to last season, Familia loaded the bases with nobody out and watched the Rockies tie the game on Cristhian Adames’ RBI fielder’s choice. Moments later, Familia uncorked a wild pitch that allowed the goahead run to score.
Originally, Terry Collins planned to give Familia the day off, but the righty talked the manager into using him if the situation war- ranted it. So after Addison Reed and Jerry Blevins combined for a scoreless eighth following Jacob deGrom’s seven shutout innings, Collins turned to Familia for the third straight day.
“We said, ‘This is the perfect situation to get him right back out there,’ ” Collins said.
But Familia allowed a leadoff single to Trevor Story and walked David Dahl before Daniel Descalso bunted. Rene Rivera opted to let the ball roll, but it stopped on the foul line, loading the bases.
Adames followed with a slow roller, on which James Loney — whose only play was to second base — committed a fielding error. With the bases still loaded and the game tied, Familia then fired a sinker that rolled to the backstop and allowed Dahl to score.
“I was just trying to make my pitch and I’m not perfect,” Familia said. “Nobody is perfect in this game and these things happen.”
The Mets (53-48) lost their second straight — they had gone win-loss in the previous 12 games since the All-Star break — after going the last seven innings without scoring.
DeGrom showed no hangover effect from his worst performance of the season, last Saturday in Miami, and fired seven shutout innings in which he allowed five hits with six strikeouts and one walk.
Rivera delivered three hits for the Mets and drove in the team’s only run with a secondinning double against lefty Tyler Anderson.
But the Mets squandered an opportunity to break it open in the seventh, when they loaded the bases with nobody out, but didn’t score. Boos resonated throughout the ballpark as Wilmer Flores was retired for the final out in the inning.
“To be honest, we could have blown that game open by some ground balls and we haven’t been able to do it, and that’s what it comes down to,” Collins said. “Our pitchers, they live on the edge and it’s hard to do every night.” In his previous start, deGrom lasted just
3 2/3 innings in Miami and allowed five
earned runs on 10 hits, but the righty got rolling as Thursday’s game progressed. It marked deGrom’s third start in his last six in which he lasted at least seven innings without allowing a run.
“The bullpen has been great, so normally when I come out of the game, I seem to get a win,” deGrom said.
After Loney singled with two outs in the second, Rivera doubled to right and was thrown out trying to extend it into a triple. But Loney had already crossed the plate, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.
Loney left runners stranded at the corners in the fourth, when he filed out following Asdrubal Cabrera’s single that had advanced Neil Walker to third.
“It’s been tough lately,” Rivera said. “But we’re going to score runs and win some games.”