When New York Mets‘ stud Jacob deGrom went down with a stress reaction on his right scapula on April 1, most fans thought it was the beginning of the end of the team’s playoff chances. After all, he won’t even pick up a ball in April and will have to ramp up again to rejoin the rotation, most likely around early June.
However, and fortunately for Mets’ fans, the rotation, at least in the first four games of the season, came through. As long as Max Scherzer, Tylor Megill, Carlos Carrasco, Chris Bassitt, and Taijuan Walker can hold down the fort until deGrom returns, the Mets’ chances should remain intact if their ace returns in top form.
Megill started off the season in impressive fashion, completing five scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals, with just three hits and no walks. He accumulated six strikeouts and touched the high-90s on his debut with his four-seam fastball.
The Mets have gotten excellent outings from their starters
Scherzer was next on Friday and pitched six innings while conceding only three runs on three hits with one walk and six punchouts. Then, on Saturday, one of the Mets’ offseason additions, Chris Bassitt, tossed six scoreless frames with three hits, one walk and eight strikeouts.
Carlos Carrasco closed out the weekend in solid fashion for the Mets, throwing 5.2 frames and letting in just one run. He gave up two hits with no walks and five whiffs. It was a truly impressive performance by the staff as a whole.
Right-hander Taijuan Walker will be on the mound on Monday to make his season debut, and will try to leave behind some knee soreness that plagued him around the end of spring training.
Even without their ace, the Mets’ set of starting pitchers is showing that they can get the job done, led by a steady veteran in Scherzer.