In a year highlighted by one of the league’s best rotations, a big reason the Mets remain atop the National League East 67 games into the season, some fans remain unsatisfied with one particular member of that rotation.
Jon Niese has had the worst start to a season of his career posting an ERA over 7 in his first 10 starts. Met fans everywhere have made it no secret that they have just about had it with Niese toeing the rubber every five days. But I beg to differ. After three solid starts in a row it appears Niese is turning a corner.
Niese had a quality start in the Mets 7-2 loss to the Diamondbacks two Fridays ago. Niese allowed two earned runs, striking out eight in 7.0 innings of work giving the Mets a chance to win the game which was ruined by the bullpen’s worst combined outing of the season. Obviously those aren’t deGrom or Harvey numbers but after what we have seen in his first 10 starts this was a good sign out of Jon.
In his next outing, Niese went up against the defending world champions and it appeared to be a train wreck from the first pitch. The Giants were up 1-0 with the bases loaded before Niese could even record an out. The game had a familiar bad feeling to it and it appeared he lacked confidence.
But Niese was able to limit the damage to only two runs in the inning after inducing a double play. After that it was game-on for Jon Niese who retired the next 12 Giants until an Eric Campbell error in the sixth that should have ended the inning. Unfortunately with Niese being the unluckiest pitcher on the staff, the next batter Brandon Crawford drove a fastball for a new Citi Field home run.
Niese finished the night with seven innings allowing only two earned runs as the Mets salvaged the final game of the series with the Giants. Niese faired much better than Matt Harvey or rookie sensation Noah Syndergaard did in games 1 and 2 of the series.
In last night’s game against the Blue Jays, Niese may have had his best start of the season going seven innings once again, allowing three earned runs in gutsy performance against a tough offense.
“People need to understand that we lost the game, but that might be the best lineup against left-handed pitching that there is,” Collins said of the Blue Jays.
Niese has looked much more comfortable on the hill in his last three outings, controlling some of the biggest bats in the league. He’s pitched outstanding.
By no means does this put Niese into a comfortable hold in the rotation, but it certainly should earn him a few more starts before his spot is yanked from him as some suggest.
Yes, the heat is on for Niese to keep performing with young Steven Matz breathing down his neck and continuing to dominate at Triple-A.
However the pressure of the last three weeks has proven to bring out a more competitive and aggressive version of Jon Niese. He now has a better ERA than fan favorite Bartolo Colon who is second in the league in wins.
After three quality outings it might be time to give Niese a break and hope that he continues to pitch the way he does. He puts the team into a position to win and also increases his trade value.
The next time the Mets send Niese to the hill will be next week against the struggling Brewers, yet another opportunity for Niese to continue his streak of quality starts.
