NEW YORK — In a span of 11 weeks, right-hander Jeurys Familia has gone from a question mark at closer to the unquestioned leader of the New York Mets’ bullpen — and quite possibly the most valuable player on the entire roster.
Familia proved his value for the second straight day Sunday, when he got the final four outs to preserve the Mets’ 10-8, come-from-behind victory over the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.
It was the fifth time this season Familia has thrown more than one inning. In those outings, Familia is 1-0 with four saves while allowing no runs on five hits over 8 1/3 innings.
“I can’t say enough about the job he’s done,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He is now ‘The Guy.’”
The Mets were reminded of that Saturday, when Familia was away from the team following the birth of his son, Jeurys Jr., late Friday night in New Jersey. New York entered the ninth leading the Braves 3-1, but right-hander Hansel Robles and left-hander Alex Torres combined to squander the lead and the Mets eventually lost 5-3 in 11 innings.
When Familia returned to the Mets on Sunday morning, Collins said he was greeted like a long-lost family member.
“A lot of guys were excited to see him when he walked through the door,” Collins said. “First thing you hear is ‘The Man’s here.’ That’s what he’s become.”
Familia wasn’t even supposed to be the Mets’ closer, but he moved into the role when incumbent right-hander Jenrry Mejia suffered an elbow injury while warming up during the season opener against the Washington Nationals. Familia became the Mets’ long-term option at the role just days later, when Mejia was suspended 80 games for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.
Now, he’s one of the best in the league at what he does. The save Sunday was the 19th for Familia, who is 2-0 with a 1.16 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 31 innings. Health permitting, he is shaping up as a near-lock to be selected to the National League team for the All-Star Game in Cincinnati on July 14.
“You talk about shortening games — you look up in the seventh inning, you go ‘How do we get six outs to where we can then get to The Man?’” Collins said.
Sometimes, it doesn’t even take that long.