SAN DIEGO — Dillon Gee stood on the mound — tossing the ball in the air with one hand, the way someone might when he is bored — as the Mets’ infield converged on him and his manager, Terry Collins, emerged from the dugout to take him out of the game.
This was an unfamiliar feeling for Gee. He had pitched through the fifth inning in his last 51 starts, the longest active streak in the majors and a franchise record. It also must have felt a bit awkward. The Mets had gone to a six-man rotation in part so Gee could be included, and this was their first time through it.