Jason Vargas did it again on Wednesday night in a 6-0 loss to the Phillies, putting forth another short yet effective start, building upon his previous encouraging outing against the Cardinals.
Vargas. 36, showed his ability to work around trouble and command his pitches but continues to struggle to make it past five innings in any of his four starts to begin the season. Manager, Mickey Callaway though is okay with this.
“I’m sure every team will take five good innings from a fifth starter every night,” Callaway said. “Absolutely. There’s no doubt about it. It’s the fifth spot. And you know what? If the rest of your pitchers are pitching like they’re capable of, that is more than enough out of your fifth slot.” (MLB)
The Mets fifth starter had some nice moments against the Phillies on Wednesday, including striking out Bryce Harper twice. Vargas feels getting on more of a routine these past couple of starts has really helped him as he gets into the groove of things.
“It’s definitely nice to pitch on a more regular basis than not,” Vargas said. “I’ve definitely had some more success these last couple times out in making the pitches that we want. It’s definitely moving in that direction.”
Jason tossed 89 pitches in his 4.2 innings of work, 53 of which landed for strikes. He allowed just one run on three hits while striking out four and walking two and lowered his ERA from 9.58 down to 7.20 with Wednesday’s start.
The Mets are content with these types of starts from their fifth man as they continue to show confidence in him. It is hard not to wonder though how long the bullpen can hold up carrying almost half a game every fifth day.
