New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia has been diagnosed with an arterial clot in his right shoulder and may need season-ending surgery, the team announced Thursday.

Mets’ Jeurys Familia to have surgery on shoulder for arterial clot

The 27-year-old Dominican blew a save on Wednesday by allowing four runs (thee earned) on four hits in the top of the ninth inning of a 6-5 home loss to the San Francisco Giants, his third straight appearance and the finale of a three-game series.

Familia started this season with a 15-game suspension, which Major League Baseball handed him for a domestic violence incident with his wife last October. A judge dropped the charges in December.

The right-hander recorded a career-high 51 saves last season, and is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA and three saves this campaign. He will be treated by Dr. Robert Thompson, an expert in circulation issues including Thoracic Outlet Syndrome who diagnosed and performed surgery on Matt Harvey last summer, and also performed surgery on former Mets pitcher Dillon Gee in 2012. Gee was similarly diagnosed with a blood clot in his shoulder and missed the remainder of that season.

Familia is the second Mets pitcher to suffer a severe injury this year. Starter Noah Syndergaard is on the 60-day disabled list and isn’t expected to return until at least the All-Star break due to a torn muscle behind his right arm.

Manager Terry Collins defended using Familia in Tuesday’s win over the Giants. The closer played even though the Mets held a five-run lead.

The Mets (16-17), who are second in the National League East, next visit the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night for the opener of a three-game series.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 21: Jeurys Familia #27 of the New York Mets pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at AT&T Park on August 21, 2016 in San Francisco, California. The New York Mets defeated the San Francisco Giants 2-0. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

Jeurys Familia will have to appear in court next week.

Mets Closer Jeurys Familia, Arrested On Domestic Violence Charge, Has Nov. 10 Court Date

The New York Mets closing pitcher was arrested at his New Jersey home on Monday following an alleged domestic violence incident, and now has a 10 a.m. court proceeding scheduled for Nov. 10 in Fort Lee Municipal Court.

Familia, 27– who is identified in the complaint as Jeurys F. Mojica– was charged with simple assault.

In a supremely ironic case, the charge comes just weeks after the All-Star Dominican pitcher appeared in an ad where he stated in Spanish, “I am a fan of baseball. I am a fan of the Mets. I am not a fan of domestic violence.”

Familia, who was been with the Mets for five seasons, shares his Fort Lee apartment with his wife, Bianca Rivas, and their 1-year-old son, Jeurys Jr. 

Fort Lee police chief Keith Bendul told the Record of North Jersey that police responded to a call regarding “a dispute” at an apartment on Park Avenue at 2:22 a.m. Monday. The battered victim suffered a bruised cheek and a scratched face, according to police, who said the victim’s injuries were visible to the naked eye.

The Mets star was released on $1,500 bail and is barred from phone, mail or personal contact with the victim– whose identity was withheld, the complaint stated.

Familia’s attorney, Paul Brickfield, has not yet made an official statement.

The public service announcement Familia appeared in last month was sponsored by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Other ads featured Yankees manager Joe Girardi, Knicks legend John Starks and other athletes.

New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who announced the campaign on Oct. 5, said in a statement she was “deeply disturbed” by the allegations against Familia and called on the MLB to launch an investigation.

Familia is the second athlete from a New York-based major league sports team to be investigated for domestic abuse in the last month. Former Giants kicker Josh Brown also confessed in a diary to abusing his wife, and was released from the team after initially being placed on the NFL commissioner’s exempt list.

“I will be reaching out to the Mets and the Familia ads will be removed from the campaign,” Mark-Viverito said. “Last week it was Josh Brown this week it’s Familia. The problem is rampant. The solution is to confront it.”

Familia’s arrest also will provide another test for Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, unveiled in August 2015 after negotiations with its Players Association.

Among the players who have been suspended under the policy is Familia’s teammate, Jose Reyes. Then a member of the Colorado Rockies, Reyes was suspended without pay for the first 51 games of the 2016 season in the wake of his arrest on a domestic violence charge last offseason.

Police at the time said Reyes shoved his wife into a door in a Hawaii hotel. Reyes pleaded not guilty and the charges were dropped because prosecutors said Reyes’ wife declined to cooperate. Reyes was released by the Rockies after his suspension ended and signed with the Mets on June 25.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 21: Jeurys Familia #27 of the New York Mets pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at AT&T Park on August 21, 2016 in San Francisco, California. The New York Mets defeated the San Francisco Giants 2-0. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

Bases loaded, no one out. Kris Bryant on deck.

That was the situation New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia faced Tuesday night, with his team was clinging to a 2-1 lead over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

OPINION: Jeurys Familia Is Best Closer In Baseball

Pinch-hitter Matt Szczur grounded to Mets first baseman James Loney, who threw home to get the force out. One down.

Bryant stepped to the plate, with his 25 home runs and budding superstar smile, and Familia quickly dispatched the 2015 Rookie of the Year, inducing a ground ball for a double play to end the game.

“I just always try to calm down when I have situations like that — bases loaded, no out,” Familia said postgame. “I try to throw my sinker down, make sure if they make contact it’s a ground ball, and believe in myself.

It wasn’t the first time Familia had found himself in such a bind.

Just a couple weeks earlier, at Citi Field, the Cubs had the bases juiced with no outs in the top of the ninth inning, but New York’s closer found a way to wiggle himself out of that one too.

JEURYS FAMILIA SHUTS DOWN CUBS FOR SAVE

And it was Bryant who made the final out, striking out on Familia’s sinker, a pitch that is picking up momentum with every appearance.

Dating back to last season, the day before the Mets acquired Yoenis Cespedes to be exact, Familia has converted 49 regular season save opportunities. He currently stands tied for fourth all-time in consecutive saves, two behind Jose Valverde for third (51), and 25 behind Eric Gange, who strung together 84 saves in a row.

But because he pitches to contact, Familia is often overlooked when discussing the most dominant closers in Major League Baseball.

Sure, he will walk some guys, and allow some baserunners, but when you need to close the door, Familia is there with his hand on the knob, already turned.

Just ask Mets Manager Terry Collins.

“A couple of years ago, he would have walked the next guy,” Collins said of his closer’s effort against the Cubs. “He would have backed off the fastball. Right now, he’s like, ‘Hey, I know how to do this. I know how to get out of these tight jams.’ He went back and went to work.”

A couple years ago, the Mets wouldn’t have imagined Familia in a closer’s role.

Up until 2012 he pitched exclusively as a starter in New York’s farm system.

And like another starter-turned-closer who played in New York, he condensed his repertoire, focusing almost exclusively on that heavy sinker to coax hitter to drive the ball into the ground.

It is important to note that Familia blew three saves in the World Series last year, a new record, including the deciding Game 5.

But it is just as important to make mention of the fact that Famila was a rookie closer, pitching in the World Series, for a team that hadn’t won a pennant in 15 years.

Now, he is the best closer in baseball.

Florida Marlins reliever A.J. Ramos is the next closest. But just to demonstrate the gap between the two N.L. East foes, Ramos has slightly better numbers in terms of ERA and WHIP, but he’s blown six saves over the course of Familia’s consecutive save streak.

Since the outset of last season Ramos has saved 68 games. Over the same span, Familia has saved 81, more than any other pitcher in the big leagues.

And I don’t want to hear about Aroldis Chapman.

Chapman has the most electric stuff I’ve ever seen, or anyone has ever seen, really.

Buts as exciting as it is to watch him thrown 105 MPH, it’s equally disheartening when he can’t get it over the plate.

This is not a question of what closer has the best stuff, it’s about who is the best closer in baseball.

Look at the numbers, then watch him work on the mound.

Familia is no soft-tosser, he is consistently in the mid-to-upper 90s. But his sinker falls off the table quicker than Fausto Carmona changes his name. (I thought his sinker was the best I’d ever seen until Familia.)

Mariano Rivera made a Hall of Fame career from one pitch.

Yes, Mo struck plenty of guys out, but the beauty of the cutter was that it tied everyone up, forcing them to miss the barrel, either getting jammed, or grounding out weekly.

Familia has had a similar effect in his two years as a closer.

And that’s why he gets outs. He strikes guys out too, but his ability to pitch to contact allows him the freedom to pile up baserunners before quickly dispatching would-be heroes.

“Nobody is more frustrated that he gets in those situations than he is, but he’s a special guy,” Collins said, adding, “That’s why I think he’s as good as there is in baseball.”

Yoenis Cespedes scored a big home run, Jeurys Familia pitched out of a huge jam in the ninth and rookie Brandon Nimmo keyed a three-run rally in the seventh to lead the New York Mets to a 4-3 home victory over the Chicago Cubs Thursday night in their first meeting since last year’s National League Championship Series.

Mets Rally, Beat Cubs 4-3 To Halt Skid In NLSC Rematch

The Cubs snapped a three-game winning streak, while the Mets had lost their previous four games, including a three-game road series against the Washington Nationals.

“It sure came at the right time,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “To come back against that team, first game of this 11-game homestand, I think it’s huge for us. It lifted the spirits of every guy in there.”

Kris Bryant gave the Cubs an early lead with a two-run homer off left-hander Steven Matz in the first. Matz, who pitched 5 1/3 innings on Thursday with an extra day of rest following an elbow examination earlier this week that revealed a bone spur, sat in the upper 90s with his fastball all night. He allowed seven hits and three walks, but only allowed one run– a homer by Javier Baez– after Bryant took him deep in the first.

Before leaving with one out in the seventh, Cubs starter John Lackey gave up only one run, Cespedes’ solo drive in the sixth. The right-hander also allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five.

Chicago threatened to regain the lead in the ninth, putting their first two batters in scoring position with no outs before Familia earned his 27th save in 27 chances.

“It’s like a 98-mile-an-hour lefty cutter — good luck,” Bryant said of the Dominican right-hander’s pitches. “I just think our last three at-bats, they were a little too anxious. He’s supposed to do that. That’s why he’s the closer on their team, that’s why he’ll have a long career. Sometimes you have to tip your cap.”

Cespedes’ homer in the sixth, which soared into the upper deck in left field and cut the Cubs’ lead to 3-1, was the longest home run by any Mets player this season. The ball came off the bat at 110 mph and would have traveled 441 feet unimpeded, according to MLB’s Statcast. ESPN Stats & Info had it at 466 feet.

“I think it woke us up, I really do,” Collins said. “He hasn’t hit one in a while, and that was a big one.”

In the seventh, after Travis d’Arnaud singled with one out, Cubs manager Joe Maddon elected to remove Lackey from the game, turning to new reliever Joel Peralta. The right-hander walked pinch-hitter Alejandro De Aza, then served up an RBI single to Nimmo. That brought up Neil Walker, whose bouncer to the right side forced Baez to charge. The second baseman fired toward third base on the run for a potential tag play but his throwing error ended up allowing two runs to score.

The Mets, who swept Chicago last October to reach the World Series, had lost nine consecutive regular-season games against the Cubs dating to August 2014.

“We made one mistake on defense, but otherwise it was a pretty good game of baseball,” Maddon said.

Nimmo, the 23-year-old outfielder who made his debut with the Mets on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves, was thrilled after earning his first Major League RBI.

“I was absolutely ecstatic,” said Nimmo. “It is hard to put into words, because this is something that I’ve dreamed about ever since I was a kid.”

The two teams will face off again in the second of their four-game series at Citi Field on Friday night. RIght-hander Jason Hammel will start for the Cubs. Hammel is 0-3 with a 4.91 ERA in five career starts against the Mets.

Righty Jacob deGrom will take the mound for the Mets. DeGrom has not pitched with a lead in any of his last four outings despite a 2.77 ERA over that stretch, and will look to snap a personal 10-game losing streak when he opposes Hammel on Friday. Over those 10 starts, deGrom is 0-4 with a 3.13 ERA, 63 strikeouts and 15 walks.

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 30: Brandon Nimmo #9 of the New York Mets follows through on a seventh-inning, RBI base hit against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field on June 30, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)