Corey Oswalt started for the Mets today after being recalled to take Steven Matz‘s spot in the rotation while the latter is on the disabled list with a left-arm strain.
The right-hander got Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies out before running into some trouble early in the first inning. Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis would hit back-to-back singles with the former advancing to third to put runners at the corners with two outs. Oswalt would escape the jam, though, as he would get Kurt Suzuki to ground out to end the threat.
Oswalt would have an easier time in the second, third, and fourth innings as he would allow only one hit in that span while striking out three batters.
Meanwhile, the Mets offense was actually scoring runs for him and allowed them to take a 3-0 lead in the afternoon contest.
However, the fifth inning would present an interesting twist as Oswalt would allow a solo home run to the opposing pitcher, Julio Teheran, to cut the Mets’ lead to 3-1.
The 24-year-old would get through the sixth inning without any damage, with a Markakis single being the only blemish in the hit column.
That would be enough to allow Mickey Callaway to trust Oswalt to start the seventh inning for the first time this season, which would prove to be a mistake, as he would allow a single to Johan Camargo followed by a two-run homer to Ender Inciarte to tie the game at three.
Oswalt would face Dansby Swanson next, who would reach base on a bunt-for-a-hit attempt. From there, Paul Sewald and Jerry Blevins would be asked to finish the inning, which they did without hurting Oswalt’s ERA any further. As a result, the team’s starter would receive a no-decision.
On the day, Oswalt completed six innings (87 pitches) while allowing three runs, eight hits, and no walks to go along with four strikeouts.
After the game, he spoke to reporters and still managed to find some positives from his start today, despite the ugly ending.
“My fastball command, inside-out, was better than it has been in the past and then I was just mixing and changing speeds from there. I had a really good game plan going in and I just kind of stuck with it.”
Oswalt did address the home run, though, admitting that the location he attempted to get on the pitch was not executed as planned.
“We were trying to go in pretty much the whole game, but it kind of just ran back over the middle a little bit and it kind of put our team in a bad position.”
Nonetheless, this was another strong start for him and he now has a 5.13 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts on the year in seven games (six starts, 33 1/3 innings) while retaining his 1-2 record.
