The silence in Queens was tomblike. All night long Citi Field had been caught between delirium and high anxiety. By the ninth and final inning, 44,747 fans had bounced and screamed and pleaded, and were now urging Jeurys Familia, their exuberant giant of a Mets closer, to extend their season another few days.
Familia reared and tossed. And Conor Gillaspie, a backup San Francisco Giant third baseman, cocked his bat and hacked at a sinker that didn’t sink. “Right now, I have no idea where it was,” he said of the Familia pitch. “I just know it was up enough to swing at.