Tylor Megill struggles as the issues with their fragmented starting rotation begin to grow
Tylor Megill struggles as the issues with their fragmented starting rotation begin to grow
Francisco Álvarez hit his first home run of the year, but Tylor Megill's struggles plus a bullpen leak forced the Mets to settle for a split in San Francisco
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets dropped their final game of their 10-game road trip with a 5-4 loss against the Giants (box)
RHP Tylor Megill was not good and gave up four runs in four innings of work
C Francisco Álvarez blasted his first home run of the season in the sixth inning
RHP Jeff Brigham struck out four in two outstanding innings of work
Jeff McNeil continues to hit and went 2-for-4 with a run in the finale
RHP Drew Smith struggled in the eighth inning and gave up the game-winning run
The team finished 7-3 for their long West Coast road trip
Who’s Hot 🔥
Jeff McNeil is 12-for-26 over his last seven games with one home run, 3 RBIs, and six runs scored
LHP Brooks Raley struck out three in his appearance and has not given up a run in his last nine appearances
Injury Updates 🏥
Justin Verlander (strained teres major muscle) threw three innings of live batting practice in Port St. Lucie on Sunday and will proceed to a rehab start on Friday - he could return to the Mets sometime next week
Today’s Game 🗓
The Mets will enjoy an off day before opening up a series against the Nationals.
The Mets have a major rotation issue, and it’s impact has a long reach ✍🏻
One day after David Peterson struggled mightily on Saturday, Tylor Megill also struggled and failed to pitch beyond the fourth inning on Sunday.
Two straight games, two straight duds from Peterson and Megill.
When the Mets scrapped together the lead in the fourth inning on Sunday, Megill gave up two runs in the bottom of the inning to give the lead it right back to the Giants. And Megill got hit particularly hard against the Giants lefty bats, something which has become a disturbing theme for Megill in the early part of the year.
Coming into the game, lefties were hitting .324/.432/.487 against Megill while righties were batting .163/.234/.372. More or less, Megill hasn’t been able to get lefties out and on Sunday, those struggles led to Mets manager Buck Showalter turning to his bullpen early yet again.
After the game, Showalter said he is concerned with overusing his high leverage relievers early in the season which led to Drew Smith pitching the eighth inning and giving up the game-winning run. Showalter’s reasoning is debatable given the off day, but there is no debate that continuously calling upon the bullpen early is unsustainable. Not only are Peterson and Megill taxing the bullpen (as is having two other rotation spots to fill at the moment), but Kodai Senga is also not going deep into games yet.
The whole formula is completely unsustainable for the pitching staff, between not having four of their starting pitchers to nobody’s ability to go deep into games to save the bullpen.
With the Mets relying on the bullpen to get more than nine outs almost every night, a bullpen that was constructed around Edwin Díaz who will be absent all year, what will that mean for them down the stretch of the season?
Pitching depth is a very good thing and the Mets have shown they have had that over the last year or so. But to peel this far into it so early and continually rely on it is a recipe for disaster both in the short and long-term. Peterson and Megill are both very serviceable depth guys and spot starters but like anyone of their ilk, once they enter the rotation in a continuous manner they become exposed. So far this season, Megill has been more successful than Peterson, but the Mets will have some hard decisions to make when Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander return, which could be around the same time next week, especially if Joey Lucchesi gives them another strong start this week.
In other words, help is on the way, with every start serving as an audition for those in the rotation right now.
Around the League 🚩
The Pirates continue to surprise and are now 16-7 after their defeat of the Reds
Red Sox slugger Masataka Yoshida hit two home runs in one inning in Boston’s 12-5 win over the Brewers
The Rays remained perfect at home and are now 13-0 in Tampa
Jacob deGrom struck out eleven in his return to the mound after exiting his last start early
Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe will be out 4-6 months with a torn labrum
Guardians prospect Logan Allen struck out eight and picked up the win in his major league debut