After the Atlanta Braves took a broom to the Mets at Citi Field last weekend, the Amazins got the perfect antidote from their bullpen after Kansas City Royals leadoff batter Whit Merrifield ripped a liner off of Bartolo Colon’s right thumb.
“The first thought that popped into my head was, ‘God, please don’t let this be a broken thumb,’ because I just had never been hit there before,” Colon said through an interpreter.
A manager’s worst nightmare turned into a sigh of relief as Hansel Robles came to the rescue allowing one earned run and striking out six in a career high 3 2/3 innings.
Jerry Blevins, Erik Goeddel, and Addison Reed, were a well-oiled right and left throwing machine, surrendering one hit between them, besting the best relief corps in the business. Then the ninth inning belonged to Jeurys Familia who clinched his 23rd major league leading save.
“Those are the kind of games, I really believe, that you should grow from,” manager Terry Collins said. “Our bullpen had a tough weekend. And they came back tonight certainly in an unexpected situation.”
It wasn’t a night filled with the Mets greatest hits, but solo shots by Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes was all that was needed to beat the boys in royal blue 2-1.
A positive piece to NY’s injury plagued puzzle was the return of catcher Travis d’Arnaud, activated from three months on the disabled list, he showed signs of a full rotator cuff recovery, gunning down the speedy Alcides Escobar trying to steal second in the first.
Next up, Noah Syndergaard will take the mound on Wednesday on six days rest against the left-handed hurler Danny Duffy, who will try put a damper on the mighty Thor’s attempt at six straight decision wins.
Mets Diamond Dust
— X-rays on Bartolo Colon were negative and the team says he suffered a bone bruise on his right thumb. Terry Collins said they will know more in the morning when asked if he would miss his next start. “It swelled up on him pretty fast out on the field. We’ll see how he is tomorrow. If he has trouble moving it tomorrow, we’ll have to certainly take a look at that.”
— Right-hander Logan Verrett was scratched from his start for Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday night and will be available to step in should the Mets need a fresh arm.
— With Asdrubal Cabrera’s solo homer in the first inning, the Mets have now hit 17 first-inning home runs, the most in the majors. New York has outscored its opponents, 39-22 and is 28-11 when scoring first.
— Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for his 18th homer of the season. Over his last 12 games, Cespedes is batting .356 (16-45) with three home runs and seven RBI. He’s also driven in a run in four of his last five games and seven of his last 11 games.
— Jeurys Familia is a perfect 23-for-23 in save opportunities this season and is tied for the major league lead in saves. He has now saved 39 consecutive games in the regular season dating to August 1, 2015, extending a franchise-record.
