Taijuan Walker Fanned Eight in Strong Return From IL

Taijuan Walker hardly missed a beat in his return to action as he dominated for the New York Mets in their 13-2 blowout of the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on Saturday night.

Despite a lineup that is battered and bruised and seriously depleted, the Mets broke out offensively to rack up their fourth straight win and the bats catching fire was both the headline and the highlight of the game.

However, equally impressive was Walker who returned off the Injured List, making his first start since May 17 after exiting a game against these same Braves with soreness in his side.

Walker had been stellar before getting hurt and had been a huge factor in starting pitching keeping the Mets afloat despite their offensive struggles, and he continued where he left off on Saturday night in cold conditions.

The 28-year-old delivered five shutout innings and struck out eight, and allowed just three baserunners all night.

Walker allowed one run or fewer for the fifth time in his last six starts, and he settled into a groove after allowing a Ronald Acuna Jr. single up the middle at the top of the first inning. Walker did give up another leadoff single in the second to Austin Riley, but a stunning diving catch by Jonathan Villar ensured that the starter escaped unscathed again.

With a James McCann home run and a Dominic Smith grounder giving the Mets a 2-0 lead, Walker really hit his stride in the third and fourth innings as he struck out three, and he picked up two more strikeouts in the fifth inning as he retired the Braves in order.

It was an 80-pitch day for Walker who returned in impressive style, but the pitcher was quick to pay tribute to his offense for ensuring that he was able to get his job done with little pressure.

“I felt great,” Walker said. “That last inning felt really good, felt like I was under my legs a lot more. The offense did really good today too, so took the pressure off me and I was able to go out there and attack the zone.”

The Mets’ bullpen did allow two runs but it hardly mattered as the offense went crazy later in the game, with every single bat playing their part in a breakout performance.

And the New York Mets, who are now 25-20 and extended their lead atop the NL East, will be feeling especially positive about Taijuan Walker this morning, with Walker lowering his ERA to 1.82 in the wake of Saturday’s exploits, which is the second-lowest mark in franchise history by a Met in his first nine starts with the team, trailing only the great Al Leiter (1.49) in 1998.

If Walker can keep this spectacular pace up, then the Mets could be a real threat going forward thanks to their deep starting rotation once Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard both make their eventual returns, but Walker is continuing to lay claim to being the pickup of the season so far.