Sometimes in baseball, teams and players are better off being lucky than good.
That’s how it’s gone for the Mets when Jeurys Familia has struggled and blown a save.
On Sunday, Familia blew his fourth save of the season when he allowed two runs in the ninth inning which allowed the Dodgers to tie the score at two a piece.
But fortunately for Familia and the Mets, the club has not lost a single one of those blown saves. They overcame Sunday’s failed attempt against Los Angeles, two blown saves against the Cardinals in 2015 – one in New York and one in St. Louis – and one against the Blue Jays.
Familia insists fatigue was not a factor in his most recent failed save attempt on Sunday.
“I think everybody has a bad game,” the closer explained. “I had a couple of bad games. But I’m not tired.”
Familia has lost the feel for his sinker for the moment. He’s having trouble locating it down in the strike zone and he’s falling behind in counts as a result. He’s then forced to come in with straight stuff and he’s gotten hit around a little bit.
He’ll be fine. He’s been so good all year long, and it’s because of his efforts to bail out this bullpen in a role he was never meant to be in he’s emerged as the runaway MVP of the team in 2015. Most closers, even the best of them, hit a rough patch at some point in the season.
Fortunately, the Mets haven’t paid the price for his mini-slump to date. That’s not to say they can survive a prolonged slump from their star closer, but he’ll get it right and be back to his old self in short order, presumably.
Two of Familia’s blown saves have come when he’s been required to get more than three outs, including Sunday when he got the third out in the eighth inning but could not get the Dodgers out in the ninth without allowing the two runs.
He has converted four of six save opportunities when required to get more than three outs.
Just Mets 