After tying the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, Mets manager, Terry Collins went to his closer in a non-save situation in the ninth. For the second time in three days, Jeurys Familia faltered.
Coming into the top of the ninth, tied with Dodgers at two and surviving Clayton Kershaw, there was hope for the Mets. Familia though quickly took the goodwill of the eighth away as he proceeded to load the bases, giving Adrian Gonzalez a prime opportunity to put his team back on top. Gonzalez came through with a base-hit, paving the way for the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory in the rubber game of the series.
“I’m just trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong,” Familia said. “At the same time, I know everybody has a hard time. You just try to move forward, and tomorrow is a new day.” (ESPN)
Familia, entering this series, had an ERA of 2.01. He left the series with a 4.07 ERA. He had some trouble with his command, walking two batters on his way to loading the bases on Sunday night. World Series aside, there has not been a more shutdown reliever as Familia the last two seasons. He uncharacteristically walked three batters in his two innings of work this series, after walking none in his last 15 appearances.
“He and I talked a little bit today,” Collins said. “One of the pitches that’s really hurting him is the slider with right-handers. You saw it again tonight. He got ahead in the count and he left the slider on the plate for the initial base hit. The same thing the other day.”
“The same thing in Washington with [Jayson] Werth. His stuff is fine. He’s got to go back and make the pitches he knows that he’s capable of doing so that he can get some outs. He’s got that great sinker, and I hate to see him start relying on those off-speed pitches.”
Familia had allowed just just five runs this season, before allowing six against the Dodgers this weekend. Getting him going and getting back to being the automatic reliever who holds the franchise record of 32 consecutive regular-season saves is crucial to this team’s success. That streak is still intact as his last two appearances came in non-save situations.
