Jeurys Familia returned to a big league mound for the first time since May 10, and while the results weren’t favorable, the Mets closer says he feels “great.”
“I think maybe two more outings I’ll be ok,” Familia said. “I have to get used to it, then I will be fine. My arm feels great. 100 percent, that’s all that matters right now.”
The big righty took the mound in the eighth inning with the Mets down 6-4 On Saturday for the first time since he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his shoulder in mid-May.
Michael Taylor greeted Familia with a single up the middle and promptly swiped second base. Taylor was then bunted over by Andrew Stevenson to set things up for Adrian Sanchez.
Sanchez squared up and was beaned with a 97 mph fastball and lie in the dirt for several minutes before regaining his composure and finishing his at-bat, delivering an RBI single.
“I feel bad, because I don’t want to hit nobody, I just want to do my job,” Familia said. “I am sorry I hit him, but I am just trying to do my job. After that, I kept trying to do my thing.”
Met-killer Daniel Murphy then drew a walk as a pinch hitter, followed by a run scoring hit from Howie Kendrick to score pinch runner, Edwin Jackson who replaced Sanchez.
Wilmer Difo put the nail in the coffin with a single to make it a 9-4 game before Familia was able to get the final two outs of the inning.
“I think I tried too much today,” said Familia, who will require some time before he sees the results he wants on the field.
While it wasn’t a great outing by any means for the 27-year-old, it was good to see him back on the mound. Hopefully, he can make positive strides the rest of this year in preparation for 2018.
