The Mets' bullpen had a different look on Friday, but the group got the job done in the Mets' 5-4 victory over Arizona.
After a crazy top of the eighth inning where the Mets jumped in front, Mickey Callaway relied on Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman to pitch the eighth and ninth innings, and the duo delivered.
"The more and more we looked at it, after they played catch they said they were okay. Dave (Eiland) and I talked about it, and (Jeurys) Familia and (Edwin) Diaz were down," Callaway said. "They have thrown five out of eight. Today would have been another three out of four for both of them. They've thrown a ton of pitches, and we just couldn't do it.
"I think taking care of our players and putting them in a good spot is always something that we're going to think about, as well as winning, and we had Lugo and Gsellman. Thank goodness (Zack) Wheeler stepped up and went seven for us. That was huge. Now, both Familia and Diaz have had two days off, and we're caught up. We felt like if we would have pitched them today, man, we're going to be trying to catch up for another week. Lugo and Gsellman stepped up big-time and got the job done."
Lugo was officially activated off the Injured List prior to Friday's first pitch, and he didn't show any signs of rust. Even after Carlos Gomez misplayed a ball in center field, Lugo pitched his way out of the jam, much to his manager's delight.
"He made pitches," Callaway said. "He threw the ball in, got some jam shots, and he was able to keep the fly balls on the infield where our infielders could catch them and they couldn't score. He did a great job of pitching in when he needed to. That's a big way to help yourself out.
"He just pitched excellently in that situation, especially for not having pitched in a long time. Those were big outs."
In the ninth, it was Gsellman who got the call to close, and he was able to slam the door shut and give the Mets a win in the first game of their series with Arizona.
"I've always had the mentality that every time I take the mound, it's the same whether it's the first or the ninth," Gsellman said. "So, I just go with that and it's been working."