Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

Entering the 2023 season, the Mets were projected to have Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, José Quintana, and Carlos Carrasco in their rotation. On Friday night, four of those five pitchers were out of the lineup, and Joey Lucchesi, who hadn’t pitched in the majors since June of 2021, gave the Mets some much-needed length as the Mets beat the Giants, 7-0.

Lucchesi was simply electric on the mound on Friday, giving the Mets both quality and quantity in equal measure. What made the outing all the more special was the fact that it was Lucchesi’s first start in the big leagues since June 18 2021 after a long road back from Tommy John surgery. And, to cap it all off, Lucchesi grew up 30 minutes from Oracle Park. So, to have pitched a gem in-front of his family in his own backyard was meaningful in more ways than one for the lefty.

“I mean, two years since surgery, a lot of momentum building up,” Lucchesi said after the game. “It was my first outing, back at home too, all my friends and family here. I was a little nervous in the beginning and this outing just feels so good to get under my belt. I’m super grateful to be up here with the team and to be able to pitch like I did for the team. My family was here, my parents were here, and to have them see me pitch like that, man, I’m just super grateful. Just super happy.”

Lucchesi got into trouble in the first inning, allowing a double to Wilmer Flores before walking Darin Ruf. However, he got J.D. Davis to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame. Lucchesi walked David Villar to lead off the second inning but escaped trouble again, getting Heliot Ramos on his signature “churve” to end the inning.

“You think about all the things he’s gone through to this point, it’s got to be a special night for him and his family,” manager Buck Showalter said in a postgame interview. “You try and take in what that meant to him.”

Lucchesi allowed another base runner to start off the third inning, but he again sidestepped trouble thanks to a double play, this time from another former Met in Flores. Lucchesi finally got his first clean inning of the night in the fourth, striking out Davis and Villar in the process. The southpaw allowed a single to Joey Bart in the fifth but struck out Brett Wisely, Ramos, and Mike Yastrzemski – getting Wisely and Yastrzemski on the churve and Ramos on a cutter.

“You saw his confidence grow as the game kept going,” Showalter said.”A lot of it is the deception in his delivery, he throws it all out of the same window.”

The Giants got another lead-off base runner in the sixth inning on a single from Thairo Estrada – but Lucchesi induced another double play from Flores to ease through the sixth inning – the fourth of the night for the Mets. Lucchesi concluded his night by striking out the side in order in the seventh – getting Davis, Villar, and Yastrzemski all on fastballs. By getting through the seventh inning, Lucchesi became the first Mets pitcher to get through more than six innings this season. He allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out nine – the most punchouts he’s recorded since 2019. Lucchesi earned his first win of the season, and his second as a Met, with the other coming on May 8, 2021 against Arizona.

“Since the moment he showed up to the yard, he was locked in,” Pete Alonso told Steve Gelbs after the game. “Joey was lights out. His execution and his location was fabulous. This is so special for Joey – It’s really cool to be a part of it. I’m happy he got the win and the way he was able to pitch the way he did.”

Lucchesi’s fastball averaged just 89.9 miles per hour, but he registered six whiffs and 19 called strikes, giving him a called strikes plus whiff rate of 42 percent. While Lucchesi didn’t rely on his churve very heavily, he racked four whiffs on 12 swings on the pitch. His churve also averaged 2,197 revolutions per minute, which is up from the 2,081 it averaged in 2021. Lucchesi didn’t get any whiffs on his cutter, but he didn’t allow an exit velocity over 80.5 MPH on the pitch.

Dating back to June 13, 2021, Lucchesi has tossed 17 straight scoreless innings. It’s unknown how many more starts the 29-year-old will get at the major league level, but this outing won’t go unnoticed, especially given how much the Mets have struggled to get length out of their starting rotation so far this year. As it lines up right now, Lucchesi is slated to make his next start against the Braves on Saturday. But, whatever happens in the future, the 29-year-old will always have Friday night.

“I’m just super grateful to be up here,” Lucchesi said after the game. “I think it is my best outing.”