Familia feels like ‘ the man’

The Mets got a glimpse of how miserable this season could be.

While Jeurys Familia was at the hospital on Saturday with his fiancée and newborn baby, Jeurys Jr., the makeshift Mets’ bullpen blew the team’s first game when leading after eight innings this season. It’s a loss the closer would likely have never allow to become a loss, had he been available.

On Sunday morning, the doors to the Mets’ clubhouse swung open and Familia was ready to reclaim his role. The babywas born and the manwas back.

“When he walked through the door, the first thing you heard was, ‘ The man is here.’ That’s what he’s become,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He was very, very excited and a lot of guys were excited to see him.” With good reason. After Friday night’s nervewracking game, in which he sat with his phone by his side and rushed to the hospital after learning his first child was born while hewas picking up a save, Familia finished off the Mets’ 108 win over the Braves at Citi Field on Sunday with a fourout save, tying him for a major leagueleading fourth save of four or more outs this season.

Familia, now tied for third in the National League with 19 saves, has thrown 11 ² / ₃ scoreless innings over his past nine games and has allowed only two runs in his last 26 ¹ / ₃ innings, lowering his ERA to 1.16.

“Right now, so far, I know I’ve had a great year and I’m trying to compete out there every time they need me,” Familia said. “It doesn’t matter what I have to do, I’ll do whatever I can to help the team win.”

Having converted all but one of his save opportunities this season, Familia had an inexplicable feeling Sunday he would get a chance in his first game back, telling teammates a win was coming despite the Mets trailing 85 in the fifth inning.

Just one inning later, the Mets pulled ahead and Collins told pitching coach Dan Warthen that another inning plus outing would be needed from their closer.

“When you talk about shortening games, you look up in that seventh inning, you say how can we get six outs here because then we can get to the man,” Collins said. “I can’t say enough about the job he’s done. He is now the guy. He’s the guy we got to get to.”