Schwei's Mets Notes: Familia Struggling In Non-Save Situations
By John Schweibacher
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After taking two of three games in Washington against the Nationals, the Mets dropped two of three against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field.
The Mets lost the rubber game 4-2 on Sunday night. New York rallied to tie in the eighth inning, but Jeurys Familia struggled for the second straight outing, taking the loss after giving up two runs in the top of the ninth.
Familia is 16-for-16 with a 1.69 ERA in save situations this season, but in non-save situations his ERA has ballooned to 8.64, allowing eight runs and 15 hits in 8 1/3 innings.
Last season, Familia was more effective in the non-save situations, going 2-1 with a 1.32 ERA in 27 such outings. The Mets' closer was 0-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 48 save opportunities in 2015.
After Noah Syndergaard was ejected for throwing a pitch behind Chase Utley, the Dodgers' second baseman homered twice to lead L.A. to a 9-1 win Saturday night. It was Utley's fifth career multi-homer game against the Mets.
Here is the list of players with the most two-homer games against the Mets:
• Willie McCovey 8
• Willie Mays 6
• Dick Allen 5
• Dave Kingman 5
• Chipper Jones 5
• Albert Pujols 5
• Chase Utley 5
Curtis Granderson homered in the bottom of the ninth to give New York a 6-5 victory on Friday night. It was the ninth time in club history the Mets defeated the Dodgers with a "walk-off' home run:
• 5/27/16: L.A. 5 NYM 6 -- Granderson solo home run in 9th
• 4/24/13: L.A. 3 NYM 7 -- Valdespin grand slam in 10th
• 7/8/93: L.A. 3 NYM 6 -- Bonilla three-run homer in 10th
• 5/9/92: L.A. 2 NYM 5 -- Magadan three-run homer in 9th
• 5/31/98: L.A. 4 NYM 5 -- Elster solo home run in 11th
• 6/11/88: L.A. 2 NYM 6 -- Jorgensen grand slam in 10th
• 6/17/76: L.A. 0 NYM 1 -- Kingman solo home run in 14th
• 5/26/75: L.A. 3 NYM 6 -- Garrett three-run homer in 9th
• 8/28/71: L.A. 1 NYM 2 -- Jones solo home run in 9th
Steven Matz pitched eight shutout innings in the Mets' 2-0 victory over the Nationals last Wednesday afternoon to give New York the series win. Matz has won each of his last seven starts, allowing two or fewer runs in each outing.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only four other rookies in the live-ball era (since 1920) have won at least seven consecutive starts while giving up no more than two runs in each appearance: Boo Ferriss (eight straight in 1945), Fernando Valenzuela (eight in 1981), Cal Eldred (seven in 1992) and Jered Weaver (seven in 2006).
Stephen Strasburg extended his winning streak to 11 games and the Nationals blasted five homers against the Mets last Tuesday night in Washington. It was the first time Mets pitchers had allowed five home runs in a game since April 14, 2014, when the Angels hit four against Bartolo Colon and another off of John Lannan in a 14- 2 win at Anaheim.
Colon celebrated his last day as a 42-year-old by beating the Nationals, 7-1, last Monday night at Nationals Park. It was the 222nd career win for Colon, and his 47th since turning 40 in 2013.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only four pitchers in major-league history recorded as many wins as Colon from age 40 to age 42: Warren Spahn (62), Cy Young (61), Randy Johnson (51) and Roger Clemens (50).
Happy Recap: Going Deep. The Mets have homered in nine straight games and 13 of their last 14.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: Poison Pen. Mets relievers allowed 15 runs in 11 2/3 innings in the three-game series against the Dodgers.
