Mets’ Carlos Mendoza defends Huascar Brazoban decision in seventh inning: ‘He’s gotten big outs before’

After a busy trade deadline that included the Mets acquiring three relievers, manager Carlos Mendoza is now tasked with figuring out the best time and place to use his new arms.

That juggling act was evident on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Angels when the skipper called Huascar Brazoban’s number to pitch the bottom of the seventh inning with New York leading, 4-2.

It was the second time Brazoban has pitched for the Mets since joining the team from the Miami Marlins. In his first outing, the right-hander looked great against the Minnesota Twins, striking out two and adding a walk in his one inning of relief in a game New York was down 8-2.

In a much more intense situation on Saturday, things went much differently for the 34-year-old as he lasted just 0.2 innings while allowing three earned runs and coughing up the lead his team just got thanks to J.D. Martinez’s grand slam in the top half of the inning.

The big hit against Brazoban, who began the inning by striking out back-to-back hitters, was Zach Neto’s three-run shot which came after the shortstop fouled off a few tough pitches.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the home run was the difference in the game.

“I went out to compete. He got the best of me,” Brazoban said. “I made a bad pitch and that was the pitch that cost us the game, but that’s part of the game.”

The decision by Mendoza to turn to Brazoban in that situation will obviously be condemned, or at the very least questioned, by many due to the result. But the skipper stands by his choice even though he’s still not totally familiar with the right-hander.

“He’s gotten big outs before and he’s got a big arm,” he said. “Obviously we brought him in here to be in those situations and he’s been having a really good year, especially the past few outings.”

It’s true. Prior to Saturday, Brazoban was in the midst of not allowing an earned run in his last 11 appearances spanning 15.2 innings. The last time he allowed an earned run to score was on June 26 when he gave five earned runs in 0.2 innings against the Kansas City Royals.

It was certainly an impressive stretch for the right-hander, but it should be noted that even on the Marlins Brazoban had only dabbled in late-game, high-leverage situations and wasn’t considered one of the go-to guys in Miami’s bullpen.

So, when asked if Brazoban can and will be utilized in that role in New York, Mendoza offered an answer that may have further explained why he was in that situation on Saturday.

“Well, we gotta find out,” Mendoza said. “We got him in here and he will continue to get the ball and he will continue to get opportunities. As we get familiar with him and depending on the situation then we’ll make some decisions, but he’s gonna get big outs for us.”

Again, to Brazoban’s credit, he did strike out the first two batters he faced before things went south. After that, the Angels had some tough at-bats against him and flipped the script with one swing.

Brazoban also mentioned that he didn’t feel any added pressure in that situation because the game plan stays the same no matter what – attack the strike zone.

“I threw every pitch that I had in that at-bat,” Brazoban said about the Neto at-bat. “It was a hard-fought at-bat and he got the best of me. I threw everything that I had – changeup, sinker, fastball, everything. He beat me there.”