New York Mets left-hander Jason Vargas put forth an encouraging performance on Tuesday night versus the Cincinnati Reds in what helped the team win by a score of 4-3, despite not getting credit for it. After his 5.1-inning, three-hit, one-run outing, the 35-year-old’s earned-run average is down to 5.75 on the season.
Since allowing four earned runs over a third-of-an-inning in the Mets’ April 13 loss to Atlanta — leaving him with a 14.21 earned-run average — Vargas has pitched to a 1.93 ERA with 12 strikeouts, eight walks, and 1.21 walks-and-hits per inning. That’s awfully nice to see, if I may say so.
Vargas worked around a one-out double courtesy of Joey Votto in the first with a strikeout of Eugenio Suarez on a well-located outside-half four-seamer and got Yasiel Puig to line out to Amed Rosario at shortstop, leaving him stranded.
Reds center fielder Phillip Ervin laced a one-out single into left field in the second but Vargas settled in and struck out Monday night’s hero, Jesse Winker, on an 81 mph changeup and Wilson Ramos gunned down Ervin by a healthy margin attempting to steal second base. Mini-crisis averted.
Vargas issued his first bases-on-balls to Cincinnati second-baseman Jose Peraza with two outs in the third. After Peraza stole second, the seasoned southpaw caught Votto looking at an arguably out-of-the-zone knuckle-curve that appeared to sail high and outside. We’ll take it!
After putting two more Reds on base in the fourth via walks — Puig with one out, who then stole second, and Ervin with two outs — bringing Winker and his .823 OPS to the plate.
Vargas started the left-hander off with an 85 mph four-seam fastball well off of the plate before getting a called strike on a changeup on the outside-black. After another fastball placed in virtually the same spot as the first pitch of the at-bat, Winker fouled off a change before grounding out softly on another mid-70s knuckle-curve.
Jason Vargas navigated through his first perfect inning of the evening in the fifth, striking out his counterpart, Jose Castillo (I got it!; sorry, couldn’t help myself) along the way, the Mets’ left-hander was sent back out for the sixth to face the top-half — and most dangerous part — of Cincinnati’s lineup.
He retired Votto on a fly ball to Juan Lagares in center field but gave up a 102 mph rocket to Suarez, 383 feet to left-center field, to tie the game at one apiece. That dinger ended Vargas’ night on a sour note, but the progress he’s made over his last few starts shouldn’t be forgotten because of it.
On Wednesday, Jason Vargas relied on his changeup for nearly half of his pitches thrown (40 of 86), resulting in eight called strikes, one swinging strike, and a 75.5 mph average exit velocity. He appeared to use his four-seamer (26 pitches, two whiffs, four called strikes) to set up his changeup, and located all of his pitches extremely well.
If Vargas can consistently produce at a mediocre-to-high(ish) level out of the Mets’ fifth spot in the rotation, it would bode well for the group as a whole.
While Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are more than likely to return to their respective forms after both have started the season off slowly, the Mets can’t be forced to rely solely on Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz to “bail out” the big arms if they aren’t up to their usual standard.
Having Jason Vargas as a minimally serviceable option to give them five innings and a chance at a win with the front of the rotation coming back around is an asset. Whether he can continue to progress as he has over the last few weeks will be determined in short order.
Whether the Mets decide to continue giving him chances to succeed — especially with free-agent lefty Dallas Keuchel and reportedly-available Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman looming as alternative options — is another question altogether.
