One panic button later, Mets have the start Collins desired

Just eight games into the season, manager Terry Collins was pushing the panic button and using Jeurys Familia for a five-out save against the Marlins.

As kooky as the move seemed at the time, the Mets won that game to complete an awful homestand and have since been close to unstoppable. It starts, of course, with a dominant rotation that features Noah Syndergaard and his array of 100 mph gas, but the Mets’ bullpen was terrific in April, and the lineup purred at last-August level — with Yoenis Cespedes, Neil Walker and Michael Conforto as the focal points.

So the Mets — who carried a seven-game winning streak into Saturday’s game against the Giants — received the fast start to the season Collins so desperately wanted.

Like last season, when they won 11 straight games in April, the Mets have built up equity to protect against a later downturn. The Mets entered Saturday 13-2 since Collins went all Panic Citi during the team’s rough start. Now it’s hard to find the holes.

A review of an impressive opening month for the Mets:

MVP: Yoenis Cespedes

What’s not to like? His season started ominously enough with a dropped ball in left field against the Royals on Opening Night, but since then just about everything has gone right for Cespedes. Most recently, there was the pinch-hit homer against the Reds and grand slam against the Giants.

For all the talk about not expecting him to produce at the same level as last August and September, when he carried the Mets to the NL East title, there has been no letdown by Cespedes, who has a 1.036 OPS to go with 23 RBIs. He can’t possibly continue this pace for the rest of the season, can he?

LVP: Travis d’Arnaud

The catcher started slowly at the plate and was just starting to show progress when he was placed on the disabled list last week with a right rotator cuff strain. It was just the latest DL stint for d’Arnaud, who played just 68 games last season because of injuries.

Defensively, d’Arnaud has thrown out just 3-of-17 (18 percent) of runners attempting to steal. The Mets probably could live with that if d’Arnaud produces at the plate, but his .196/.288/.261 slash line has been a disappointment, leaving the door ajar for Kevin Plawecki to challenge for the job.

Looking Ahead

The highlight of May will be six games against the Nationals, giving the Mets perhaps an early chance to build a cushion against their chief NL East rival. But the Mets have many miles to cover before getting their reunion with Daniel Murphy.

An 11-game road swing through San Diego, Los Angeles and Colorado after concluding six straight at Citi Field without an off day will test the Mets’ endurance. On the flip side, none of the upcoming road opponents have come out roaring in what appears to be a very balanced — or do we dare suggest mediocre? — NL West.

Other than the games against the Nationals, the home schedule includes visits from the Brewers, Dodgers and White Sox.

A Few Things To Think About

Matt Harvey has been the weak link in the Mets’ rotation with a 4.76 ERA, but you would expect a big rebound month from the right-hander, who has tinkered with his mechanics in recent weeks after a turbulent spring that included a bladder infection that briefly put his first start in question.

Just as Harvey has underperformed, you wonder if there will be a market correction from the bullpen, which soared in April, thanks largely to strong performances from Jim Henderson, Logan Verrett and Addison Reed, among others. The Mets entered Saturday with the NL’s best bullpen, sporting a 2.57 ERA.

Game of the month

Mets 4, Reds 3, April 26

Yoenis Cespedes ripped a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the seventh inning on the first pitch he saw from Brandon Finnegan to tie the game before David Wright’s RBI single put the Mets ahead. Cespedes later called his blast one of the biggest moments of his career.

Mets by the numbers

(All stats before Saturday’s games)

4: Times the Mets had back-to-back homers in April. Lucas Duda was part of the tandem three times.

7: Wins for Steven Matz over the first 10 starts of his career, the highest such total for any pitcher in franchise history.

10: Errors committed, which was tied for the second-lowest total in the NL.

18: Games started by David Wright, putting him on pace to play 133 games this season as he manages his spinal stenosis.

31: Homers by the Mets, the second-highest April total in franchise history. The 2006 Mets hit 33 homers in April.