Jason Vargas came off the injured list on Saturday after struggling with a hamstring issue. He was on the IL for just under three weeks and made his first start since May 5 on Saturday.

In the second game of a series against the Detroit Tigers, Jason Vargas looked to even up the series following a 9-8 loss on Friday.

Vargas, 36, threw the ball well going five innings (81 pitches) and giving up only one earned run, five hits, and three walks while striking out three batters. However, his strong performance did not factor into the Mets 13 inning walk-off 5-4 win.

Mickey Callaway spoke about Vargas’ outing almost forgetting he pitched at the beginning of this marathon of a 13 inning game, “He was tremendous…exactly what you want Vargas to do, make pitches on the corners… continue to execute pitches down and away”.

Jason Vargas discussed his outing and added a subtle plug towards the heroics from the team’s catchers.

“I felt like it went pretty well. It was a more exciting game way past the fifth inning. I felt like the real story of the game was the day of the catcher.”

Steve Gelbs later asked Vargas if he feels “back” after Saturday’s start and a few strong outings prior to his IL stint.

“Yeah I do and I don’t really ever feel like I was out of stride in any regard, just some unfortunate, unfortunate things that went down in a couple of consecutive outings.”

Vargas added that he has felt consistent this entire year and how nothing has really felt different in his starts.

When asked where the recent success has come from, the southpaw said that “the command of pitching down in the strike zone and making those two-strike pitches” has really helped him in his starts.

Despite having a 5.22 ERA, Vargas has given up less than three runs in each of his last five starts.  Over those five starts, he owned a 3.00 ERA which has since decreased.

Even in his rehab outing before coming back to the Major league team, Vargas gave up only one run in four innings pitched for Syracuse.

Hopefully, Vargas can keep up his recent success for the Mets as they go out west for their seven-game road trip.