The 2022 New York Mets could easily have a seven-game winning streak but their bullpen lost leads on consecutive nights. A home opener approaches on April 15 when the Arizona Diamondbacks are in town. The blown leads were enraging but fans can’t ask for much more than a 5-2 start to the season.
Starting pitchers have met offseason expectations thus far. Losing Jacob DeGrom to injury for a couple of months hasn’t hurt the team’s confidence. Taijuan Walker did suffer a setback in his season debut. The team placed Walker on the 10-day IL for shoulder bursitis. He hadn’t allowed a runner to reach base in two innings before exiting the game.
On a very positive note, Tylor Megill is poised to take a leap from 2021. Megill changed his motion after studying wind-ups from tall pitchers like DeGrom and Zack Wheeler. The baseball is now better hidden from the batter’s line of sight. Megill also feels as though he won’t tip pitches with the new shorter motion.
Max Scherzer isn’t blowing people away with his fastball but his infamous competitive mannerisms on the mound have continued to be present during the first two starts. He’s 2-0, striking out batters 13 times in 11 innings. Just typical Mad Max.
Carlos Carrasco may be the starter to put the Mets in an elite class after DeGrom returns to pitching regularly. If Carrasco is anything resembling his former self from Cleveland, opponents will dread facing the back half of the rotation. Since last year, getting past the first inning has been his most apparent mental hurdle.
Chris Bassitt hadn’t ever faced a team from the NL East until April 9 against the Washington Nationals so he’s definitely in unfamiliar territory this season. The unfamiliarity was set aside when Bassitt went six innings, allowing no runs on three hits and eight strikeouts. The first inning was a struggle until Josh Bell grounded hard into a 3-6-1 double play. Bassitt fell to 3-0 in the count when facing Juan Soto and Lane Thomas but struck out both batters. Coming into 2022, his record was 27-11 from the previous three seasons. The Mets look forward to riding Bassitt’s over-the-top curveball in the coming months. The home crowd will get to see it in action on Opening Day.
