According to a report by Adam Rubin on ESPN New York, Terry Collins handled the eighth inning initially with Vic Black on Monday because the staff had advised Collins to stay away from Jeurys Familia.
“I talked to the pitching guys today and they said, ‘Listen, if you can give him a night, give him a night, because he can use it,'” Collins said. “If you think about it, he didn’t pitch very much in April. Yet he’s like third in the league in appearances right now. Therefore, I’m pitching him like crazy. So I’ve got to back off a little bit.
“He didn’t say anything, but he’s usually 96-97 mph and yesterday he was 94.”
Familia last pitched on Sunday in the win against the Texas Rangers in relief of Gonzalez Germen. It was during that appearance that the Mets saw his velocity was down, raising a red flag with the staff.
The Mets say there is no indication of any injury.
Familia, 24, has a 2.18 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 42 appearances spanning 45.1 innings pitched.
