FEW & WAR' BETWEEN
Lefty's rare gem catapults Mets into series split with rival Braves
ATLANTA — Happy Vargas Day.
If Jason Vargas wasn’t pitching for his spot in the Mets’ rotation on Wednesday, he was at least trying to avert disaster for his team, which through a combination of Monday’s doubleheader and injuries had exhausted its bullpen in recent days.
The veteran lefty rose to the occasion with his best performance in a Mets uniform, leading a 4-1 victory over the Braves at SunTrust Park.
With Thursday’s Mets starter, Seth Lugo, in contention for a rotation job, Vargas pitched like a man trying to avoid the bullpen. Lugo will take Noah Syndergaard’s spot in the rotation Thursday, and the Mets will potentially have a decision to make thereafter. Syndergaard, who is on the disabled list with a strained ligament in his right index finger, is expected to throw a bullpen session over the weekend before the Mets decide if he is ready to rejoin the rotation.
After the Mets finished with a four-game series split, Vargas, whose ERA dropped from 10.62 to 8.53 with five shutout innings in which he allowed two hits and one walk, was asked if his latest performance demonstrates he should keep his starting job.
“I don’t really have anything to say on that, man,” Vargas said. “That’s not really my call and I just do my job.”
Manager Mickey Callaway has clearly considered the bullpen as an option for Vargas, who signed a two-year deal worth $16 million with the Mets in February.
“He pitched great,” Callaway said. “He’s going to be a valuable part of this team no matter where he pitches and it’s just good for him to have successful outings like he did tonight.”
Jeurys Familia pitched a scoreless eighth inning — against the heart of the Braves lineup — before Robert Gsellman entered in the ninth and recorded his second save in six opportunities.
Familia got help to end the eighth, when diving Amed Rosario smothered Nick Markakis’ grounder and glove-flipped to Asdrubal Cabrera, who barehanded the toss to start an inning-ending double play.
“It’s tough, but we practice that a lot,” Cabrera said. “I think that was the play that saved the game.”
Adrian Gonzalez’s run-scoring single in the eighth — his second RBI in the game — gave the Mets breathing room after Johan Camargo had blasted a solo homer the previous inning that sliced the Mets’ lead to 2-1. In the ninth, Brandon Nimmo slammed an RBI double that gave the Mets a fourth run.
Vargas, working on three days’ rest, was removed after 65 pitches and Tim Peterson, who was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day, entered for the sixth. Peterson, in his major league debut, allowed one run, getting the ball to Familia with a 2-1 lead.
Nimmo blooped an RBI single in the seventh that gave the Mets a 2-0 lead after Rosario raced for a two-out triple. Rosario, who entered 8-for-24 (.333) over his previous seven games, was among the team’s best offensive performers on the road trip.
Gonzalez’s RBI double in the fourth gave the Mets their first run. Jay Bruce doubled leading off the inning and scored on Gonzalez’s ground-rule double that bounced into the right-field seats.
Charlie Culberson, who doubled with two outs in the second, was the only runner to reach scoring position against Vargas. After intentionally walking the ensuing batter, Vargas retired nine straight batters before Julio Teheran reached on Rosario’s error in the fifth. But Vargas recovered to retire Ender Inciarte and then departed before having to face the Braves a third time through the batting order.
“He was done,” Callaway said. “He had a tough schedule in-between, three days’ rest, he threw a bullpen [session] at 2 o’clock in the morning or something in Game 2 of the doubleheader [Monday]. We gave him the option and he was tired.”