Mets Top 5 Pitching Performances of 2021

The 2021 season may not have been the year Met fans had hoped it would be, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have its moments. The Mets have always been known for their pitching throughout their history, and this past year was no different as pitching was once again the Mets’ strength.

Here are the top 10 pitching performances from Mets pitchers in 2021.

5. Stroman Shuts Down Rockies in Colorado

As Met fans have seen in recent years, any game in Colorado can end up having football scores pretty quickly. With the Mets’ offense struggling early in the year, Marcus Stroman stepped up in a big way to pick the bats up.

Stroman went eight innings in just his third start of the season, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk while striking out five Rockies. He was at his best that day, giving up plenty of weak contact and retiring 12 straight batters in the middle of the game. He made one of his signature plays that day when he fielded a ground ball behind his back before making a rolling throw to first base for the out and pointing to the gold on his glove.

Stroman improved to 3-0 in his three starts and lowered his ERA to 0.89 in the win.

4. Walker Holds Cardinals to One Hit

Taijuan Walker was terrific in the first half, which lead to him making his first career All-Star team. His most dominant outing came on May 6 in St. Louis against the Cardinals.

After striking out the side in order in the first inning, Walker allowed a leadoff single against the shift to Nolan Arenado to start the second inning. After an error put runners on the corners with nobody out, Walker retired the next 18 batters.

He finished the game with seven innings pitched allowing just the one hit and an unearned run while striking out eight Cardinals. He even got his first hit as a Met that day. Walker consistently put together quality outings in the first half, but on that Thursday in St. Louis, he did his best Jacob deGrom impression on both sides of the ball.

3. DeGrom Dominates Padres in Back-to-Back Starts

While this one isn’t one single outing, it still deserves to be recognized for how impressive it was. The San Diego Padres offense was clicking on all cylinders early in the season, and Fernando Tatis Jr. looked like he was well on his way to an MVP season.

DeGrom went into San Diego on June 5 and the Padres could not touch him. He went seven scoreless innings and allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out 11 Padres.

Six days later, deGrom faced the Padres again at Citi Field. The hitters usually have the advantage when they see a pitcher more than once in such a short time, but that doesn’t matter when the pitcher is Jacob deGrom. He went six scoreless innings allowing just one soft single against the shift to Wil Myers while striking out 10 more Padres.

Over the two starts, deGrom threw 13 shutout innings allowing just four hits and a walk, and struck out 21 Padres in the process. These numbers alone are impressive, but against an offense as potent as San Diego’s, they are absolutely incredible.

2. Stroman Goes Eight Strong in Cincinnati

The Mets pitching staff desperately needed length from Stroman on July 21 in Cincinnati. Injuries had piled up, and the healthy bullpen arms had just been a part of an 11-inning marathon two days prior.

Stroman gave the Mets everything they needed and more. Stroman went eight shutout innings, allowing just one hit and a walk while striking out seven. He allowed a leadoff single to start the second inning before retiring the next 14 Reds.

Eight innings of one-hit ball is a fantastic outing in its own right. Stroman stepping up to give the Mets that outing when the pitching staff needed it most makes this that much more impressive.

1. DeGrom 15 K Shutout vs. Washington 

DeGrom’s April 23 outing against the Nationals was easily the most impressive performance of 2021. He was coming off back-to-back 14-strikeout games, and he somehow found a way to take it up a notch.

DeGrom was as dominant as ever that night, racking up 15 strikeouts while holding the Nationals to just two hits in the complete-game shutout. He retired the final 19 batters he faced to finish the game. He also drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI double in the fifth inning and added a single in the eighth inning to match the two hits he allowed.

We had become accustomed to deGrom’s brilliance from 2018-2020, but nobody could have predicted him to take another leap like he did in 2021. This outing took deGrom from Cy Young Award favorite to potential MVP favorite.

There were plenty of great outings from Mets pitchers in 2021, so feel free to discuss any games I may have neglected in the comments. With deGrom and Max Scherzer leading the way for the Mets in 2022, we should have plenty more amazin’ pitching performances to enjoy next season.