Another Series, Another Series Win
Mets take two-of-three from Arizona, head to St. Louis with steam
Another series, another series win. This is what good teams do. Let’s break it down.
Arizona left-hander Madison Bumgarner, somehow still only 32, got into trouble in the first but was still very much Madison Bumgarner as the day wore on. Luckily for New York, the veteran southpaw isn’t in midseason form yet, lengthwise.
Mark Canha led off the game with a single (Mark Canha: Leadoff Hitter), taking an extra base on Sergio Alcantara’s throwing error, and Francisco Lindor drove him home with a base hit up the middle to give the Mets an early (unearned) 1-0 lead before Tylor Megill even took the mound.
Megill entered the day with a 2.20 earned run average over his first three starts (15 K, 0.92 WHIP, 16.1 IP) and showed up Sunday with the confidence of that of a benchmark hurler, retiring the D-Backs in order in the first with impressive punchouts of Daulton Varsho (97 upstairs) and David Peralta (biting slider in).
After his eight-pitch frame in the first, Megill breezed through the second needing just eight more, pocketing two more strikeouts in the process (Christian Walker, gorgeous heat/slider/heat sequence; Jake McCarthy, three consecutive four-seamers).
The 26-year-old right-hander allowed his first baserunner via a two-out walk in the third (Jose Herrera) and gave up his first hit of the afternoon to Varsho in the next at-bat.
OK, time to settle down. And settle down he did, striking out Alcantara on a called-third-strike changeup to strand two and keep it moving.
Lindor notched his second single of the game to start the fourth but nothing materialized from New York’s end. Poor timing as Walker took Megill deep to left (467 feet, to be exact), tying the game at one in the bottom half of the frame.
Megill worked around a Nick Ahmed one-out double in the fifth to keep things knotted at one and the Mets welcomed Arizona’s bullpen into the game in the sixth. With five innings of one-run ball on Sunday, Bumgarner now has a 1.00 ERA through four starts (16 IP) this season. Just a timeless classic.
The Mets were likely pleased to see Arizona’s -0.1 fWAR relief corps take over. Starling Marte stroked a one-out double in the sixth, stole third, and scampered home on Jose Herrera’s wayward throw down the left-field foul line to make it 2-1.
The Mets tacked two on in the top of the seventh (J.D. Davis and Luis Guillorme singled, James McCann HBP, Travis Jankowski bases-loaded walk, Marte HBP), and Megill — at 78 pitches through six — got the chance to finish his day on a strong note.
Not to be. Geraldo Perdomo lined a one-out double into right, Nick Ahmed followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-2, and that was all for the fella they call Big Drip (6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 7 K, BB; 92 pitches, 65 strikes).
Seth Lugo entered to retire Pavin Smith (L8), closing the book on another progress-filled outing from Megill, who notched called strike-and-whiff rates (CSW%) of 34% and 33% on his four-seam and changeup, respectively (25% CSW on 12 sliders, 33% on six curveballs).
Making headway would be an understatement in Megill’s case. Through four starts, the California kid has a 2.35 ERA and 0.91 WHIP (22 K, 23 IP), showing off some absolutely incredible stuff.
Megill’s re-emergence as a viable option (if not a foundational cog) with the new Mets should leave Buck Showalter, Billy Eppler, and the rest of the Mets’ decision-makers with a doozy on their desks when both Taijuan Walker and Jacob deGrom return to the rotation. Nothing wrong with that.
The Mets added two in the eighth behind a solo, opposite-field homer from Davis (his first of the year) and Guillorme came home on McCann’s groundball in the next at-bat (another Alcantara throwing error) to make it a 6-2 game.
Lugo put up a clean eighth (his third consecutive scoreless appearance) and Joely Rodriguez got in his reps in the ninth to close out the weekend with a win. Love that.
The Mets are sitting atop the division early, St. Louis is next on the docket, and Max Scherzer is on the bump to kick things off. Wish all Mondays had silver linings like this. Onward.
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