Strong Mets rotation allowing vulnerable bullpen to find its form

These past two weeks, we’ve seen Mets starters picking up the slack without the injured Jacob deGrom and, in doing so, surprising us all. While the strong start from the rotation has been a pleasure to watch unfold, no unit is happier about that early success than the Mets bullpen.

Manager Buck Showalter stuck to his word in the first week of games, which resulted in a fruitful 5-2 road trip against division rivals, by slowly building up his starters’ pitch counts.

Max Scherzer, still battling through a hamstring tweak, was finished after six innings, 80 pitches in his season debut. Chris Bassitt followed suit, being pulled from his start after six innings, 93 pitches despite walking off the mound with a three-hit shutout in Washington, D.C. The Mets were extra careful with Carlos Carrasco in his first outing of the year, since he was coming off an offseason elbow surgery, so Showalter yanked him after 5.2 innings and 72 pitches even though he’d allowed just two hits to the Nationals. Tylor Megill, too, was given a short leash on Opening Day, hurling five shutout innings before the game turned to the relief corps.

Mets starters’ first turn through the rotation, brought on by Showalter’s unwavering decision to limit their pitch counts to begin the season, led to plenty of looks at Mets relievers. It didn’t take long to learn that the Mets bullpen was a thin group that lacked an identity, and quickly could become the Achilles heel of an otherwise promising roster.

Seth Lugo hasn’t pitched like himself to begin the year, sporting a 6.75 ERA over his first six relief appearances. We saw left-hander Chasen Shreve, whom the Mets signed to a minor-league deal just a few weeks before Opening Day, and right-hander Trevor Williams, the 2021 pickup as part of the Cubs’ Javy Baez trade, both get the ball in high-leverage situations. Former Yankee Adam Ottavino wasn’t included in the list of high-leverage relievers for Showalter to begin the year, so it was unclear what his role would actually be in the Mets relief corps. To top it all off, closer Edwin Diaz was placed on the bereavement list for three games, which made the early glance at the Mets bullpen appear anemic.

On Friday, as the 10-4 Mets entered a three-game series against the 5-8 Diamondbacks, it’s true that three of the Amazin’s four losses came directly at the hands of the Mets bullpen. The first two losses took place after those aforementioned short outings from Mets starters, where Carrasco and David Peterson both left their respective outings with leads, only to see the relief corps allow the Nationals and Phillies to come back late in the game and win.

The same thing happened last Saturday, when Carrasco’s terrific eight-strikeout, five-inning start against the Diamondbacks was spoiled by a combination of disappointing relief appearances from southpaw Joely Rodriguez and Lugo. Again, Showalter stuck to his word and limited Carrasco’s start to 82 pitches against Arizona, prioritizing the veteran right-hander’s health while placing trust in the bullpen.

The strategy, while seemingly proving beneficial for the Mets rotation, was not working out in the wins column. The Mets bullpen seemed overmatched in the first week of the regular season, even when facing less competitive lineups like the Nationals and Diamondbacks.

So it was a relief, no pun intended, when Showalter extended the leash on his starters and allowed them to go deeper into games. Megill stretched out to six innings and 87 pitches in his last start against the Giants, and likely would have received the runway to go more had he not given up four earned runs. In his third outing of the season, Scherzer hurled seven dazzling innings against the Diamondbacks with a pitch limit of 110. On Thursday against the Giants, Carrasco became the first Mets starter to pitch into the eighth inning this year, compiling seven strikeouts and allowing just two runs over 91 pitches.

How has the bullpen responded to the rotation’s deeper starts? Mets relievers have not allowed a run over their last five games and 17 innings. The last time the bullpen gave up a run was against the Diamondbacks last Saturday at Citi Field, when Carrasco was pulled after five innings and the Mets can say they lost squarely because of the bullpen — albeit on an afternoon when Mets bats were colder than the hot offensive start to which we’ve become accustomed.

Yes, Mets starters going deeper into games has certainly extended the rotation’s terrific performance. The rotation leads the major leagues in ERA (2.10), WHIP (0.83), opponent’s batting average (.174), strikeouts (86) and innings (77). But it has also allowed the bullpen to work less frequently and record fewer innings — all of which can help lead a relief corps to better find its identity and become familiar with the high and low leverage situations in which Showalter prefers each reliever to perform.

Make no mistake, the bullpen is still so far the weakest link in a Mets team that has won all of its first four series to begin the year. But if Mets starters maintain consistency and success over longer starts, and the offense (which currently leads the majors in hits with 120) continues being a real threat, then the bullpen can use this time to find its groove — at least until this summer’s trade deadline, when the front office can truly assess what the club’s needs will be.

For now, while the pitching is strong and the offense is outscoring its opponents, the wins are racking up and the bullpen is enjoying it.

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from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/eGlxwUs