QUEENS — Tylor Megill had dodged enough traffic on Wednesday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Pirate to flirt with his longest start since June 16 when he went six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Having allowed two runs on six hits with three walks over his first four innings, he retired Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds for two quick outs on eight pitches in the top of the fifth inning, bringing his pitch count up to 86 on the afternoon. One more quick out and he likely would have gotten the sixth to provide a bit of relief for an overworked bullpen that had pitched X innings over the previous X days.
But Megill proceeded to walk Andrew McCutchen before allowing a ringing double down the right-field line to Jack Suwinski that nearly brought the Pirates back within one of what was a 4-2 game had it not been for a perfect relay put together by right fielder DJ Stewart, second baseman Jeff McNeil, and catcher Omar Narvaez.
“He had two outs with nobody on with a chance to pitch the sixth and he walked this that and whatever and took away that,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “There was an opportunity to pitch the sixth. That was disappointing.”
That’s as stern an admonishment as one can get from Showalter — the player’s manager that normally does all he can to keep the heat off his players. But that’s the way things have gone for Megill this season, who picked up his seventh win of the season despite the dismay of his manager.
The 28-year-old right-hander had been forced to change his mechanics, ultimately decreasing his velocity, after dealing with biceps inflammation and a strained shoulder that derailed the 2022 season. He was 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA over his first six starts before the discomfort began.
Over his final nine outings of 2022, which included a demotion to the bullpen, he posted an 11.57 ERA — 18 runs in 14 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts and five walks.
Initially slated to begin this season in Triple-A,…
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