Mets bolster battered rotation MANE MEN
Pete blasts pair of bombs, Megill a horse on the hill as Amazin’s top Jays
In recent weeks, as the Mets’ starting rotation has been decimated by injuries, the team has turned to several young, unproven pitchers as fill-ins. To alleviate that, the Mets went out on Friday and made a deal for the oldest pitcher in the league.
Rich Hill, a 41-year-old soft-tossing lefty, is joining the Mets in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. In return, the Mets are sending relief pitcher Tommy Hunter and minor-league catcher Matt Dyer to Tampa.
“He’s a guy that’s been around for years now,” manager Luis Rojas said of Hill, also mentioning that they haven’t had a chance to speak yet. “He has a lot of experience pitching good baseball, pitching playoff baseball. It’s a great fit and a great acquisition.” Rojas also said that the Mets do not have a concrete date yet for Hill’s first start.
A free agent at the end of the season, Hill signed with the Rays in February on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million. His addition will give the Mets four starters with playoff experience — six whenever Carlos
Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard return — as Hill likely slots behind Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker in the rotation. He’s started 12 postseason games dating back to 2007, including three in the World Series. Hill’s postseason ERA is a tidy 3.06 over 53 innings.
In 2015, Hill was playing in an independent league for the Long Island Ducks. His tenure in indy ball earned him another shot with the Red Sox, who let him walk after the 2012 season, and he has not looked back since. Hill has been a mainstay of the Athletics’, Dodgers’,
If the old saying is true, and pitching and defense really do win championships, then the Mets looked like a World Series team on Friday night.
The Mets beat the Blue Jays, 3-0, behind six scoreless innings from their starting pitcher, a bevy of beautiful plays in the field and two no-doubt home runs from Pete Alonso. Tylor Megill, the unheralded rookie, turned in his second straight start of six frames and no damage, holding the high-flying Blue Jays’ offense to just two singles and a walk. Alonso’s two-run bullet into the left field seats was double the amount of runs the Mets would end up needing. And even though Toronto pitcher Steven Matz fared well in his return to Citi Field, his offense didn’t pull their weight.
The bottom of the first followed an ideal script for the Mets. Brandon Nimmo drew a leadoff walk and Alonso, forced into the two hole since Francisco Lindor’s injury, let him keep walking all the way home. Matz’s 1-1 pitch stayed up in the zone and Alonso banished it 406 feet in the other direction. The pull-side home run makes Alonso the first Met to reach 20 on the season and also gave the Mets their 17th homer in their last six games.
“I feel excellent right now,” Alonso preened. “I feel like I’ve been having a lot of high-quality, championship at-bats. I was fortunate enough to get some very good pitches to drive.”
Megill acclimated nicely to his 2-0 lead. After Cavan Biggio knuckled a single into shallow right field in the second inning, Megill retired nine Blue Jays in a row. He finished his night with a four-pitch inning, retiring Toronto’s trio of talented All-Star infielders easily. None of those players — Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — hit safely against Megill. The 6-foot-7 pitcher finished his evening with five strikeouts and lowered his ERA to 2.10 in the process.
“I go out there thinking I’m the best man out there,” Megill said after the game. “There’s no reason to be scared when you’re out there. You’re there for a reason: go out and pitch. Every time I go out there I’m thinking I’m going to get everybody out.”
While the eventual returns of Jacob deGrom and David Peterson — as well as the impending arrivals of the rehabbing Carlos Carrasco and newcomer Rich Hill — could push Megill out of the rotation, he’s been a godsend for the Mets in the interim. Whether he finds a place on the team as they get deeper into this pennant run, Megill has certainly earned the respect of the Mets’ clubhouse.
“The guy is keeping his poise, throwing right-on-right changeups while behind in the count. All the things that he did tonight are what he’s done since the first time he threw for us this year,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said. “This kid has been a blessing for us.”
He was buoyed all night by the Mets’ ironclad defense. Right fielder Randal Grihuck tapped a ball toward the hole between shortstop and third base on the first pitch of the fifth inning. J.D. Davis ranged deep to his left, stabbed the ball and pinwheeled his body into throwing position, making a spot on throw to get Grichuk by a few steps.
Megill got some more help in the sixth when Bichette also went after a first pitch. The big swing resulted in a little fly ball that was dropping quickly in front of Michael Conforto. The Mets’ right fielder set out on a perfect route to the ball, laying out to use every centimeter of his body in making the catch.
The home team was mostly shut down at the plate aside from Alonso’s early liftoff. Megill did get his first MLB hit, shooting a fastball into right field for an opposite field single. Matz looked comfortable in his old ballpark though, scattering four hits in 5.2 innings and not allowing any runs after Alonso took him deep.
The lead went to 3-0 when the Polar Bear cracked a solo homer in the eighth off of Ryan Borucki. The late-inning laser went even further than the first one, settling 450 feet away in the second deck. When he made his way back to the dugout, a furry friend was there to greet him for the second time. After the first home run, a plush toy horse was spotted in the dugout. After the second one, Alonso draped it over his shoulders and ran through a tunnel of teammates.
“It’s the Home Run Horse. I don’t know if we have a name for it yet,” Alonso shared. “I honestly have no idea what we’re going to name it just yet. But I’m open to suggestions. Fans, do your thing.”