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The trade deadline came and went last Tuesday without the Mets addressing what many pegged as their biggest need: a left-handed reliever.
But Sunday, when the Mets needed a quality — and extended — relief outing, left-hander Joely Rodriguez delivered.
On another day when the Mets’ bullpen was shorthanded, Rodriguez relieved Jacob deGrom and provided 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings in a 5-2 win over the Braves at Citi Field.
“Joely was as key to the game today as Jake was,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Was that a stretch? I don’t think it’s a stretch.”
Showalter did need to stretch Rodriguez, though, for his longest outing of the season.
When the game started, Showalter knew he had five relievers who he wasn’t going to use after the first four games of the series had taxed the bullpen.
