For the third straight time, Jason Vargas started a game for the Mets and impressed. In perhaps his best start of the season last night, Vargas held the Washington Nationals scoreless through six innings, allowing just three hits in the Mets’ 3-0 victory.

With six shutout innings, Vargas went somewhere he hadn’t been since September 21, 2017. The lefty also didn’t walk a single batter for the first time (in a start of at least six innings) since June 24, 2017 – all the more incredible given that he only threw 57 of his 91 pitches on the night for strikes. Vargas’ game score of 78 set a personal best dating back to June 2, 2017. And the last time he notched eight strikeouts in a start? April 19, 2017.

The brightest aspects of Vargas’ start spread out across the fourth and sixth innings – a juncture at which he has typically struggled this year (7.59 ERA, .306/.389/.618 after the first turn of the batting order). Vargas struck out six of his first seven batters, allowing no more than a leadoff single by Matt Wieters in the fifth. This stretch included a hat trick against the meat of Washington’s lineup in the fourth, as Vargas froze Bryce Harper with a fastball away, fooled Ryan Zimmerman on a low changeup, and snuck a curveball on the outside corner to beat Juan Soto.

The fifth inning wasn’t much different, as Vargas flipped the switch between his fastball and changeup to strike out both Michael Taylor and Gio Gonzalez while also threading some good curveballs into the mix against Wilmer Difo. before finishing him with another offspeed pitch in the dirt.

It should be noted that Vargas threw 20 of his 30 pitches for strikes in this stretch, which only makes the remaining slice of work (61 pitches, just 31 for strikes) all the more intriguing. A considerable amount of work befell Vargas over his first two innings, as he had to shell out 38 pitches (26 in the second) before finding his rhythm. Even then, however, he only allowed two singles, spotting his fastballs perfectly as he worked his way out of trouble.

“I think he continues to keep the ball down, throw just to the corners, and utilize his fastball for balls when he needs to – to set up his other pitches,” manager Mickey Callaway said in the press conference following the game. “He’s on that routine every five days. He’s starting to show who he really is.”

Despite a slight lack of control in the early-going, Vargas made the necessary pitches in a solid demonstration of maturity that has best defined his last three starts – all of which have pushed him over the five-inning hump that had eluded him through what has otherwise been a frustrating, stagnant 2018 season.

With this fourth win in the books, Vargas lowered his season ERA to 6.96 – trimming nearly two runs’ worth of fat off his 8.75 ERA from August 7, and marking his first experience below seven all year. Since August 14, Vargas has allowed just four runs on 13 hits and three walks in 17.1 innings of work, good for a 2.11 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.