KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Demons exorcised? Well, sort of.
After blowing three saves during the World Series, New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia breezed through the ninth inning Tuesday to complete a 2-0 win against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Familia insisted he gave no thought to his lack of success against Kansas City last October.
“I know it’s baseball. Everything happens for a reason,” Familia said. “We lost last year in the World Series, but we’re still hungry. We’re still hungry to get there again and try to win the whole thing.”
Familia seemed more disturbed by media members decrying his lack of velocity during spring training. He said he merely was pacing himself after logging 92 2/3 innings a year ago, including the postseason.
“Somebody said, ‘Familia is throwing 90, 89 sinker. What happened?’” Familia said. “It’s spring training. I’m just trying to get my body ready to get through the season. Everything is different in the season. Last year I threw a lot of innings. I had to take it easy and be smart.”
Protecting a two-run lead, Familia struck out Lorenzo Cain and coaxed groundouts from Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales to complete the Mets’ first 2016 victory. Familia was sitting at 97 mph and touched 98 mph.
“I think it’s good for him, certainly with their left-handed lineup,” manager Terry Collins said. “Lefties at times can give him trouble. ... He’s a real, real good pitcher. And I think today is probably a big step forward.”
