COMIN’ UP ACES FOR AMAZIN’S
Max makes rehab start; Jake throws live BP
HOUSTON – The Mets aces are taking significant steps toward their upcoming returns to the rotation. Max Scherzer (left oblique strain) allowed two earned runs on two hits and recorded six strikeouts with one walk across 3.1 innings and 65 pitches in his first rehab start, pitching for Double-A Binghamton, on Tuesday.
Scherzer threw to rehabbing starting catcher James McCann (left hamate fracture) in his first time pitching professionally since May 18, when he pulled himself from his start against the Cardinals after 5.2 innings.
Tuesday, Scherzer gave up a home run to the final batter he faced, Fightin Phils right fielder Jhailyn Ortiz. The three-time Cy Young winner’s start pulled in an enormous crowd for the Rumble Ponies, and the ace received a standing ovation upon his exit. Scherzer waved back at the crowd on his way into the dugout.
“I want to get back out there so bad,” Scherzer said. “You put in all this work, you see the team playing great baseball, you want to be out there and competing and winning with them.
“I want to be in the big leagues, not be a Rumble Pony.”
Jacob deGrom (stress reaction on right scapula) threw a live batting practice on Tuesday in Port St. Lucie and everything went well, a Mets spokesman said. The Mets did not immediately provide clarity on how many innings and pitches deGrom tossed. It was his first time facing batters since the shoulder injury that has sidelined him since spring training.
The Mets did not provide details on what the next step will be for deGrom, but he is expected to be cleared for a rehab outing as long as his shoulder feels OK. DeGrom is likely to require a longer ramp-up than Scherzer, who may have only needed the one rehab start before being activated to the big-league roster.
It remains possible that Scherzer could come off the injured list and join the Mets during their five-game, six-day road trip at Houston and Miami. If Scherzer wanted to remain on a five-day schedule, and the Mets gave him the go-ahead to do so, he would be lined up to start on Sunday against the Marlins at LoanDepot Park. But that is no guarantee, as the Mets want Scherzer’s tricky oblique injury completely behind him before he returns to the rotation.
“You do kind of look at the results a little bit,” Buck Showalter said of what Scherzer’s rehab outing will tell the team. “But believe me, those guys that are facing him, they’re going to give their best. I think it’s more about Wednesday and Thursday and how he’s doing afterwards, because Max will be very frank with us.”
MCNEIL HOPEFUL
Jeff McNeil believes he caught his hamstring tightness early and can likely avoid the injured list.
McNeil left Monday’s game after dashing home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning of the Mets’ 6-0 victory over the Marlins.
“I was running home there yesterday and right when I was running home it started to tighten up on me,” McNeil said on Tuesday in the visitors’ dugout at Minute Maid Park. “So going through what I’ve been through before, best to come out of the game.”
McNeil, who was not in the lineup for the series opener against the Astros, underwent an MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York immediately after leaving Monday’s game. He returned to Citi Field and climbed aboard the bus to join the Mets on their flight to H-Town on Monday evening.
Mets trainers told McNeil “everything looked great” in his MRI, according to the second baseman. He said his early exit was precautionary and that he’s day to day.
Showalter did not reveal whether McNeil would be available off the bench in the Astros series. Luis Guillorme was the starting second baseman on Tuesday. Infielder Gosuke Katoh joined the Mets on their fivegame, six-day trip as part of their taxi squad.
“Obviously Luis has been outstanding for us,” Showalter said. “But yeah, it does cut into our depth off the bench as we go forward. Even day games after night games and things we wanna do. Give somebody a twoday blow. It cramps that a little bit. But, initially, it’s a pretty fluid move for us. I didn’t have to say anything to Luis yesterday, hardly. He knew what was going on. I think the guys understand that.”
McNeil missed time due to a left hamstring strain last season, but he said his current tightness is on the “strong” right hamstring, so he’s not concerned that it will become a long-term issue.