Tylor Megill carved out another strong outing on the mound as the Mets beat the Pirates in Game 2 to split a double-header at Citi Field on Saturday night.
Just one of many faces drafted in to patch up a rotation ravaged by injuries, Megill hasn’t looked out of place in the majors and he got the job done for the Mets once again as they split a double-header for the eighth time this season.
Following Marcus Stroman‘s struggles in Game 1 earlier in the day, Megill took the mound and came out swinging with strikeouts of Kevin Newman and Ke’Bryan Hayes before getting first-time All-Star Bryan Renolds to pop out.
Thanks to Jeff McNeil‘s double, Megill pitched with a lead in the second and, while he did walk Ben Gamel to start proceedings, he soon settled into a groove by striking out both John Nogowski and Rodolfo Castro to escape the inning unscathed after also walking Jacob Stallings.
Megill did give up a hit to Newman in the third, and Reynolds hit a single to cut the lead in half before Megill struck out Nogowski again to avoid any further damage.
With his pitch count at 66, Megill started the fourth in impressive fashion by striking out both Castro and Stallings, giving the 25-year-old his sixth and seventh strikeouts of the day and his 26th in just four starts – the highest total by a pitcher in franchise history over that span.
Impressive stuff indeed from the rookie.
However, Megill’s main weakness is his inability to give length at the moment, and he began to get into trouble after walking Jared Oliva before giving up a single to Wilmer Difo.
That proved to be the end of Megill’s night as he was replaced by Jeurys Familia but, despite not going much past three innings, it was still an impressive day at the office for the rookie pitcher who allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings and 85 pitches, and he could be an option for the fifth starter in the second half of the season.
“He set the tone once again, coming in attacking batters,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said after the game.
It was a good day for Megill and the Mets who rebounded after a humiliating first loss to the lowest-scoring team in MLB, and they will look to head into the All-Star break with another win when they host the Pirates at 1:10 P.M. today.
