It was another complete meltdown by the New York Mets against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, but Tylor Megill continued to prove that he could be a decent fifth starter in the majors.

To say that it hasn’t been a vintage start to the second half of the 2021 season for the Mets would be a severe understatement given two straight losses to the Pirates, not to mention Francisco Lindor going on the IL, and Jacob deGrom’s cranky forearm.

Pittsburgh is one of the worst teams in all of baseball but they have the Mets’ number right now, and Jacob Stallings‘ grand slam home run in the ninth sealed a second heartbreaking loss in three games against the Pirates.

However, there were some positives for the Mets on Saturday and one came in the form of Megill, who pitched an absolute gem on the mound.

The rookie carved out his finest performance in the majors yet, producing six shutout innings allowing six hits, two strikeouts, no walks and lowering his ERA to 2.63 as a result.

His night did get off to a scary start as All-Star second baseman Adam Frazier hit a leadoff double, but Megill was able to work his way out of trouble in the first and he did so again in the third despite the Pirates having men on first and third.

Megill also had plenty of run support thanks in large to J.D. Davis who blasted two homers in his first game back off the injured list, and the starter held up his end of the bargain with some magic on the mound.

And, after throwing 93 pitches in six innings, Megill’s stellar night came to an end and the 25-year-old set career-highs in both innings pitched and pitches thrown.

He also made some history by becoming just the fourth Mets pitcher to post an ERA of 3.00 or lower and register 25 or more strikeouts through their first five starts, joining some pretty impressive company in Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden and Steven Matz.

“Outstanding, once again,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said after the game.

“This kid is getting better each day, he’s learning and I’m excited to watch him.”

“This guy, as young as he is and as little experience as he has at the big league level, he does a lot of good things.”

“We’ve got ourselves a pitcher here when we’re in need – I think this is a guy that can make a difference.”

With the Mets (47-42) having now dropped three straight to the Pirates (36-56), coupled with the fact that ace starter Jacob deGrom will now not pitch again until tightness in his right forearm subsides, New York needs players to step up and play the role of hero when it matters most, and Megill is certainly doing that right now.