A stomach bug sent Daisuke Matsuzaka to the showers after just one inning. But Carlos Torres and the Mets bullpen made sure the home crowd didn’t feel queasy for a change, serving as a much-needed dose of Pepto-Bismol for a fan base in need of relief.
The versatile Torres delivered four solid innings in support of Matsuzaka and Curtis Granderson blasted his first leadoff homer in nearly five years as the Mets earned a series victory with a 3-1 win over the Padres, rewarding a Father’s Day crowd of 38,987 on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.
The bullpen authored eight strong innings of work after Matsuzaka departed following one inning with what the team termed “a severe upset stomach.” The veteran righty said through a translator he felt fine upon arriving at the ballpark Sunday morning, but after eating breakfast, his stomach began to hurt. And, no, Shake Shack wasn’t the culprit. The food didn’t stay down, and Matsuzaka wasn’t long for the game.
“I knew I wasn’t physically fit to fulfill the starter’s role, but I wanted to do as much as I could,” he said. “That ended up being only one inning. … I’m really not sure what caused it. I ate everything all the other guys ate.”
With an overtaxed bullpen, Matsuzaka said he would be open to being used in relief Monday against St. Louis, a possibility manager Terry Collins raised. If not, the Mets could promote a pitcher to help the depleted relief corps, Collins said.
Making his season debut in the leadoff spot — the eighth Met to occupy that role this season — the red-hot Granderson homered and reached base four times and Daniel Murphy scored once and drove in another.
“I just tried to get myself on base and try to get the team going,” said Granderson, who walked twice, singled and homered in five at-bats after missing the previous three games with a sore left calf muscle. “I’ve done it plenty of times in my career. I just didn’t know it was going to be today.”
Granderson slammed the second pitch he saw from former Yankee Ian Kennedy into the Pepsi Porch down the right-field line, turning on an inside fastball to become the first Mets leadoff hitter to go yard this season in his first at-bat. It was the 25th time Granderson has started a game with a homer, and the first time since Sept. 27, 2009, when he was a member of the Tigers.
“It was a big lift for us to get out of the gate like that,” Collins said, adding he made the move after looking at Granderson’s past success in that spot, almost all with Detroit.
“That’s what he did,” Collins said. “He drew bases on balls and he hit doubles, triples and homers. I knew he can do it. … Tomorrow we’ll see what it’s going to look like. But right now, I feel like we need to get him up there somehow and leave him up the top of the lineup somehow.”
Coming off a six-inning, three-hit performance in a win over the Brewers, Matsuzaka left following just one shaky inning of work and 17 pitches. After walking two of the game’s first three hitters, he received a visit from Collins and trainer Ray Ramirez. Matsuzaka stayed in the game, but didn’t look right, and didn’t come back out for the second inning.
Torres was brilliant in his stead, allowing one run on four hits and striking out four over four innings. The often-used reliever, making his 37th appearance, threw a season-high 63 pitches, 27 more than his previous high.
“He just wants the baseball,” Collins said. “And I will tell you, as I’m sitting here, there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll tell me he’s got an inning in him [on Monday].”
Vic Black walked the first two Padres he faced in the sixth, but worked out of the self-induced jam, and delivered a scoreless seventh. Closer Jenrry Mejia, returning to action after complaining of a stiff lower back on Thursday, earned his seventh save with two shutout innings. Collins said he went to Mejia in the eighth rather than Jeurys Familia to give himself insurance in case his young closer’s back tightened up. Instead, Mejia retired all six Padres he faced.
“This was a big for win for us,” Collins said. “The way things have gone lately, to win this game today, is really a boost for everybody on the ballclub.”