Megill goes off rails for second time

DENVER — Tylor Megill gave the Mets two straight performances earlier this month that provided optimism he was ready to help this Mets rotation.

It has gone badly for the righthander in his two starts since. Megill’s worst results of the season came Sunday when he allowed six runs, four of which were earned, on 10 hits and two walks over four innings in the Mets’ 11-10 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field. Megill was given a 6-2 lead in the fourth inning, but allowed four runs in the bottom of the frame before he was removed at 81 pitches. The Rockies had scored two unearned runs against Megill in the second inning after he dropped a throw from Pete Alonso covering first base.

“He’s been competing a lot better and I thought he was in a pretty good place,” manager Buck Showalter said. “I am going to try, if I can, to throw this out because you try to learn from it.”

Showalter suggested fatigue might have been an issue for Megill in the altitude.

“When you get that many pitches each inning, you throw 20-plus pitches, you are going to have some fatigue and it shows up,” Showalter said. Megill isn’t so sure fatigue was a factor.

“I was still attacking hitters and getting ahead and whatnot,” Megill said. “I wasn’t going to get beat in certain moments of the game, I just tried to be a little nitpicky, picking spots where to throw certain pitches. I don’t think I was really too tired.” Megill opened the Mets’ road trip with his shortest start of the season, a 3 2/₃-inning outing against the Cubs in which he allowed six runs, four of which were earned. He had pitched much better in victories over the Nationals and Rays and lowered his ERA to 3.88 in the process. That number has jumped to 4.67 over his last two starts.

“We think we have got him in a pretty good role,” Showalter said. “I am going to feel a lot more frustrated by it if it happens in his next outing. I am going to try to be fair to these guys. A lot of good pitchers have struggled [at Coors Field] somewhat.”