After Rick Porcello‘s clunker on Sunday, the Mets really needed a strong starting pitching performance, and Michael Wacha delivered that in his first appearance as a Met against the Red Sox on Monday.
When the Mets needed it most, Wacha went five innings and gave up one run on five hits and a walk, along with four strikeouts. His offspeed stuff in particular was effective, as he kept hitters under control with his changeup and cutter.
“It’s always been my bread and butter,” Wacha said. “It’s kind of what has made me who I am throughout my career with that changeup.”
Also of note is that Wacha’s average fastball velocity was 94.7, up from when he averaged 93 last season. The lone blemish on Wacha was a Mitch Moreland solo home run in the fourth inning.
“Just excellent,” manager Luis Rojas said of Wacha’s outing. “What we saw in camp is what we saw tonight. Looking forward for him to keep it going in the season.”
He did only throw 77 pitches, so perhaps they will lengthen him out a little more as the season goes on. Still, the value of a solid start like this one cannot be understated, as Porcello’s nightmare on Sunday had everyone sweating nervously about the state of the Mets rotation.
Simply put, solid outings from the backend of the rotation that keep the Mets in ballgames are going to be huge for this team, whose rotation depth has already suffered from the loss of Zack Wheeler and the injuries to Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman (the latter of which, however, does have a good chance of coming back this year).
Rojas also said that Wacha was “attacking the zone, coming back in counts too with his changeup, spotting cutter good.”
The uptick in his fastball and the effectiveness of his secondary stuff are certainly good signs for his near future as he looks to anchor the back of this Mets rotation.
Wacha’s effort ultimately led to a Mets triumph, as they took down the Red Sox 7-4, an important win too as they evened their record at 2-2.
The Mets will play their second game at Fenway Park tonight (Tuesday) at 7:30 EST before heading to New York for two more games against the Red Sox.
They still have not announced the starting pitcher for game two, though they did say that they are considering left-handed rookie pitcher David Peterson, who is on the Mets’ taxi squad for this season.
