Buttó’s stellar relief sends surging Mets to 5th straight win

NEW YORK — The process of fortifying the relief corps began this week, when the Mets acquired Phil Maton from the Rays. If the team intends to compete for a playoff spot despite two members of its Opening Day bullpen undergoing Tommy John surgery, two others severely underperforming and a fifth long since designated for assignment, more additions will be necessary.

But don’t discount the importance of help from within. To that end, the Mets might be onto something with José Buttó, a pitcher whom team officials previously considered — and still do consider — too valuable a rotation depth piece to be a full-time reliever. Only in a time of need did the Mets reluctantly begin using Buttó out of the bullpen, where he’s suddenly — once again — proving too valuable to move.

On Saturday afternoon, Buttó entered a fraught situation in the fifth inning at Citi Field, with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base with one out. He induced a 3-6-1 double play to end the threat, hustling to cover first base himself, then struck out the side in the sixth to earn the win in a 7-3 victory over the Rockies.

The Mets rallied for four runs off Colorado starter Ryan Feltner in the second inning, including two on a Jeff McNeil double. Francisco Lindor extended the lead with a three-run homer in the eighth.

Colorado, meanwhile, ground down Mets rookie starter Christian Scott over 4 1/3 innings, necessitating a heavy workload from New York’s bullpen. Buttó and another revelatory reliever, Dedniel Núñez, did their part and more to ensure the Rockies couldn’t complete their comeback bid.