It was a rough Tuesday for the New York Mets as their malaise in May continued. The offense ended up not scoring a run in the final 16 innings of their doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers and their quest to find a temporary closer failed when Adam Ottavino blew the save in Game 1. Even as the Mets fall to ten games below .500, the one positive from the sweep was the performance of the starting pitchers against a tough Dodgers lineup with the likes of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman.

In Game 2, Jose Quintana allowed a first inning home run to Will Smith and to Miguel Vargas in the sixth. However, he ended up putting up a quality start in a loss (6 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 K, 54 of 89 pitches for strikes).

Photo by Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

In the game prior, Tylor Megill made his second start since returning from the injured list (right shoulder strain) and he was everything as advertised. The right-hander went seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked a batter, and struck out nine on 98 pitches (65 strikes). Due to the blown save, he got the no-decision, but it was hard to ask for much more from Megill, especially since he went up against a very formidable pitcher in Tyler Glasnow.

The key in this game for Megill was being able to get the Dodgers hitters to not make contact. According to Baseball Savant, he drew 14 swings-and-misses (5 from both his fastball and his slider) and he even got one from his new-found splitter against the likes of Ohtani.


Tuesday did mark a milestone for Megill as the 28-year-old went seven innings or more in a start for just the third time in his career (most recent one was September 30, 2023, against the Phillies). It is also the first time he has struck out at least nine batters in a game since May 4, 2022, against the Braves.

While Megill did get some help from Tyrone Taylor in the second inning, he was in strong form after that as he retired 10 of the next 11 batters he faced. In fact, the only extra-base hit he allowed in the game was the double from Teoscar Hernandez in the second that almost was a home run.

After the game, Megill was asked by the media if he felt that Tuesday was probably one of the best starts of his career so far:

“I’d say one of them. That felt good. Kept the pitch count down, kept balls in play, minimized walks. It felt good,” said Megill.

Tuesday was a good stepping stone for Megill and he has kept the strikeouts up as he has 16 in his last two starts. The key for him is whether can he continue to get the high strikeout totals while also going deeper into games so the Mets can have another starter that can spell the bullpen every now and again.

2024 is a big year for Megill as he tries to stay healthy and cement himself as a mainstay in the rotation when you consider the depth the Mets have both at the major league and minor league levels. It can be easy for him to get lost in the shuffle, but Tuesday showed the potential that he has shutting down some of the best hitters in the game. The key for him now is to continue to bring that performance consistently.