Logan Verrett was outstanding yesterday in his first MLB start against the Colorado Rockies. He allowed only one run and four hits during eight strong innings.
With Matt Harvey needing a day of rest, Verrett filled in and didn’t disappoint. He earned his first win of his career in dominating fashion as he appeared completely unfazed by the harsh pitching environment of Coors field.
Verrett says that his experience of pitching in the Pacific Coast League for the Mets Triple-A team helped him adjust to the high altitude.
“I think it definitely helped pitching on the West Coast,” Verrett said. “You’re kind of used to the pop-ups always having a chance to go out. So you try to keep that ball down a little more, focus a little more on every pitch.”
“Every game is different,” Verrett said. “And those 14-9 games, that’s wearing down both sides. The hitters are going into that third game running the bases hard every single day. I knew there was the possibility of them being a little bit more tired today. I just tried to attack the hitters. You can’t think about it too much because that’s when you really get in trouble.” (Adam Rubin, ESPN NY)
Terry Collins was extremely impressed with Verrett’s performance and told reporters that he is a candidate to rejoin the rotation again if the team ever needs a spot starter.
“He wasn’t in a real good rhythm in the first, but two very good plays got him out of trouble,” Collins said. “From the fifth inning on, he just got better. The location of his pitches got better.… His changeup got better, he has a good changeup, a good curveball, he got better as the game went on.”(Kristie Ackert, NY Daily News)
For now, Collins says that he will be used as a key late inning reliever, but I can’t help but wonder if the Mets will consider replacing Bartolo Colon with him in the rotation. Colon’s ERA has soared all the way to 4.90, and he has not pitched effectively since May. Meanwhile, Verrett looks like the real deal and could make a major impact in the rotation going forward.
