Baseball is such a funny game. Only a day after Jacob deGrom pitched the first complete game of the Mets season, along comes Zack Wheeler who lasted just 1 2/3 innings and allowed a career-high eight runs on Tuesday night.
A disastrous outing like that could have demolished the Mets’ bullpen ahead of a huge upcoming four-game series against the Washington Nationals, but thanks to the efforts of Josh Smoker, the pen was spared.
Smoker, 28, gave the team four innings after replacing Wheeler, throwing a career-high 81 pitches in the process. He did allow three runs, although the game was already a laugher long before the left-hander stepped in.
“He saved us, because we could have burnt out a lot of pitching tonight,” manager Terry Collins said after the game. “He went out there and pitched some tough innings and I appreciated it.”
On the season, Smoker has had a brutal showing, posting a 7.45 ERA and 1.862 ERA in 22 appearances spanning 29.0 innings. It’s quite possible that he may not be long for the team, but at least on this one particular night, he served his team well.
