MLB

After bad night, Mets pen is a relief

A collective groan spread through Citi Field once the bullpen door swung open yesterday afternoon.

That moment of anxiousness, however, proved fleeting, and nothing more than unnecessary concern.

After blowing Friday’s game, rendering Matt Harvey’s seven-inning gem meaningless, the bullpen didn’t waste Dillon Gee’s yeoman’s work, delivering three shutout frames in the Mets’ 5-1 win over the Nationals at Citi Field.

“Every day we come out here to battle back and get on top of whatever the situation is,” reliever Carlos Torres said. “Every single time we come out to pitch … we try to pound the zone and get outs. [Friday] was an unfortunate event, but we were all ready to do the job again [yesterday].”

Torres certainly was. The 30-year-old right-hander tossed two shutout innings, retiring six of the eight batters he faced and striking out the side in the eighth, and LaTroy Hawkins produced a scoreless ninth as the Mets won for the ninth time in their last 14 games.

The bullpen has figured prominently in the team’s recent success, with newcomers such as Torres and David Aardsma performing well in the middle-to-late innings. The five runs the bullpen allowed in Friday’s loss was an anomaly of late. The relievers had given up just two earned runs in their previous 34 1/3 innings, equivalent to a 0.52 ERA across 11 games.

“I think our entire bullpen since I’ve been here has been throwing well,” Torres said. “We’ve had a game or two where things have gotten away. Shy of that, everybody’s been throwing strikes.”

Torres’ fine work yesterday also meant closer Bobby Parnell wasn’t used for the fourth straight game, which manager Terry Collins was hoping to avoid. The manager also said he may use Torres, who he described as a “strike-throwing machine,” in more high-pressure situations, though he still likes the option he presents as a long reliever or spot starter.

“We certainly got to take a look at it,” Collins said.

Torres has pitched exceptionally well since he was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 16, allowing just a single earned run in 11 innings and striking out 12. He has bounced back well from the walk-off homerun he allowed to Kevin Frandsen on June 22, tossing 3 2/3 shutout innings since yielding his one and only longball this season.

“All you can do is bounce back and try to throw more strikes and quality pitches the next outing,” Torres said.