NEW YORK — Jose Buttó continued to thrive out of the bullpen Saturday, throwing 2 2/3 innings of solid relief and earning the win as the New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 7-3 to tie a season-high by moving four games over .500.
Francisco Lindor provided insurance with a three-run homer in the eighth as the Mets (49-45) climbed four games over .500 for the first time since they were 12-8 on April 20.
Buttó (4-3) posted a 3.08 ERA in his first seven starts this season but still has options and was sent to Triple-A Syracuse May 15. He was recalled July 2 to help shore up a struggling bullpen and is 3-0 with one save while not being scored upon in his first four relief appearances.
He made just 15 relief appearances as a professional prior to his recall.
''When we sent him down, right away, he said, ‘I'll do whatever. If you need me to pitch out of the bullpen, I'll do it,''' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. ''I was like, ‘You're going to go down to Triple-A and you're going to be a starter.' But right away, you could tell that he wanted to be here in the big leagues, he wanted to be a part of this team. And now here he is, getting an opportunity and he's stepping up big-time.''
Buttó got eight outs within the first seven batters he faced Saturday — the right-hander relieved Christian Scott in the fifth and induced Elias Díaz to hit into an inning-ending double play — before opening the eighth by allowing a single to Ezequiel Tovar and walking Ryan McMahon.
''The first thing I learned is we've got to be ready for any situation,'' said Buttó, who has pitched between the fifth and ninth in his four appearances. ''You've got to be ready to help the team win games.''
Dedniel Núñez, who began the season at Syracuse and is in the midst of his third stint with the Mets, got Diaz to hit into a double play and retired Brenton Doyle on a pop-up. Núñez then threw a perfect ninth inning to earn his first career save and lower his ERA to 2.35 in 21 appearances.
