Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

The Mets got revenge on Monday night, defeating the Padres 5-0 in their first meeting since the Friars knocked them out of the 2022 playoffs. Max Scherzer gutted through five innings, striking out six batters while holding the star-studded lineup to zero runs.

Scherzer was removed after the fifth inning due to his high pitch count, and Buck Showalter turned to John Curtiss with a two-run lead to face the top of the Padres lineup. Curtiss walked Juan Soto and Xander Bogaerts after retiring the first two batters of the inning. The right-handed reliever, however, hunkered down and struck out Matt Carpenter on three pitches to retire the side.

Curtiss has been a savior in the Mets bullpen so far this season. After his clean inning on Monday, the right-handed reliever lowered his ERA down to 1.47 and hasn’t allowed an earned run since March 31, his first outing of the year. Despite walking two batters on Monday, Curtiss has also kept base runners to a minimum and has a 0.789 WHIP through 6 1/3 innings.

Curtiss was originally signed by the Mets on April 6, 2022. The reliever missed the whole season due to Tommy John surgery, but the Mets signed him know he recently had surgery in hopes he could pay dividends in 2023. The signing has impacts the whatever success the Mets have had in 2023. It’s amplified because multiple arms—like Edwin Díaz, Bryce Montes de Oca, Sam Coonrod, and Tommy Hunter—are on the injured list for the foreseeable future.

The Mets will need Curtiss to be successful throughout the season to stabilize their bullpen. Adam Ottavino and David Robertson are going to carry the load in the eighth and ninth innings, but right now, the Mets don’t have a solidified guy to be the bridge in the seventh inning. Drew Smith, Dennis Santana and Brooks Raley have all struggled in those limited roles so far.

Curtiss has emerged as the bridge to the later innings for the Mets in high-leverage situation. In his five outings in 2023, Curtiss has only pitched before the seventh inning twice—one on Monday, and the other against the Brewers on April 5. He didn’t allow a run in either scenario. If Curtiss continues to be dependable for the Mets, don’t be surprised to see him earn more high-leverage moments moving forward.