Familia can't duplicate regular-season success
NEW YORK -- Jeurys Familia reached into his locker late Wednesday night, rooting around the top shelf as he began the process of cleaning out his belongings. He grabbed a cigar, still wrapped in plastic, took a brief glance at it, then snapped it in half. He dropped the entire
NEW YORK --
There was no celebration in the Mets' clubhouse following a 3-0 National League Wild Card Game loss to
"It's not my first time playing baseball, playing in the Major Leagues," Familia said. "I know those things are going to happen sometimes. This is a game."
:: NL Wild Card: Giants vs. Mets coverage ::
It was a game in which, Bumgarner aside, the Mets felt comfortable heading into the later innings. Entering the night, manager Terry Collins was hopeful that he'd have to use only his best pitchers against the Giants:
Few have been better than Familia, who allowed one home run all season, posting a 2.55 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings. No one has saved more games since the start of the 2015 season.
But in a scoreless Wild Card Game in the ninth, Familia allowed a leadoff double to
Familia threw a strike and a ball, and then a mistake: a 96-mph sinker that Statcast™ measured three feet off the ground, his most elevated pitch of the night. Though Gillaspie swore he didn't see the ball well enough to know where in the strike zone it was, he crushed it into the bullpen area in right-center anyway. Only a few minutes later, the Mets' loss was complete, however puzzling it may have seemed to them.
"If you tell me that we're giving Jeurys Familia the ball in the ninth inning, I like our chances every time," outfielder
In a quiet postgame clubhouse, many echoed that statement. But Familia still must spend his offseason chewing on the uncomfortable notion that for the second straight October, he could not replicate his regular-season success. Last year, against the Royals, he blew three saves, allowing
In a win-or-go-home Wild Card Game, Wednesday's loss tasted just as sour for one of the best regular-season closers -- that's a qualifier he must bear, for now -- in Mets history.
"He made one bad pitch," catcher
Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2008. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDiComo and Facebook, and listen to his podcast.