Last night in a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, Terry Collins asked his closer Jeurys Familia to get four outs for his ball club. Familia did exactly that, and the Mets perserved in a much needed victory to remain 5 1/2 games up on the Washington Nationals.
Familia came on in the bottom of the 8th inning after set-up man Tyler Clippard had allowed a single to Andres Blanco and a walk to Cody Asche. Clippard then was able to strike out Domonic Brown, but Terry Collins was clearly not messing around as he opted to bring in his closer to finish the inning.
What seemed to be working especially well for Familia last night was his new 94 mph splitter, which was virtually untouchable and impossible for hitters to make contact with. Familia said after the game that he had been throwing the splitter all year in the bullpen, but just started using it in games two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago takes you back to right around when the Mets swept the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. Familia had two saves in that series, and since then has thrown 6 2/3 innings while giving up no runs, just four hits, and striking out eight batters.
Since the nightmare of a blown save he had against the San Diego Padres back on July 30th, Familia has collected a total of six saves in six opportunities..
It was a rough start to the second half of the season for Familia as he blew his first three save opportunities, but it seems as though he has started to right the ship.
Last night was an example of how dangerous he really can be. Familia allowed no hits, no walks, and struck out both Altherr and Hernandez on the splitter in the bottom of the 9th to earn his 34th save of the season. It took him just 17 pitches to get the four outs,16 of them were strikes.
Collins said after the game that Familia’s splitter drops eight inches as it approaches the plate. Talk about some filthy stuff. If Familia can continue to be this untouchable down the stretch and keep pitching like he did last night, the Mets will be in very good shape.
