'Attacking' Tylor Megill, effective bullpen accent 'electric' Mets home opener

Tylor Megill was just the opening act and a supporting player in the Mets' 5-0 win in their home opener on Friday at Citi Field. But the right-hander delivered a second-straight solid outing and set the table for the fireworks around him before exiting stage left.

“Just exciting. Full crowd today, electric, energy was great,” Megill said after delivering 5.1 innings of two-hit, three-walk ball with four strikeouts. “That’s what makes it super fun when all the fans show up, and they’re all chanting hard and we’re playing great, as well.”

Megill, who again went heavy on his fastball, slider, and sinker in his second start of the season, got fewer called strikes and whiffs than he did a week ago in Houston but was just as effective.

Carlos Mendoza liked the mix of pitches and the right-hander “keeping it simple” and “attacking hitters,” which was a key for him in his debut.

“I thought he used all of ‘em today in a good way,” the manager said of Megill’s arsenal. “But I think it comes down to throwing strikes and staying on the attack.”

After throwing two curveballs last week, Megill threw nine on Friday, getting two whiffs on four swings.

“It’s completely different from where it was last year. It’s a lot harder and sharper,” he said. “I used it a few times today for strikeouts today against the lefties. And then threw some good ones to righties.

“I think it’s just good for change of pace, change of eyes. I think it’s pretty important.”

After an 11-pitch first, Megill put himself into a spot of bother early and had to dig out of a hole after Pete Alonso gave him a 2-0 lead to work with.

With two down in the second, Megill surrendered a triple to George Springer and walked Will Wagner on a full count. That’s when pitching coach Jeremy Hefner came out to give the starter a moment, having already thrown 21 pitches in the frame.

“He slowed the game down and made pitches when he needed to,” Mendoza said, adding that Hefner’s visit helped “put him in a better position there, and he went out there and executed.”

Megill got Ernie Clement to pop out in foul territory on a 95 mph fastball above the zone to end the threat.

Could he have drawn the day up any better? “A little more efficient with the pitching,” the starter said with a smile. “Did the job.”’

He added: “Full bullpen killing it. Offense killing it. It was pretty perfect ball game today.”

Mets' 'pen spells relief

“We like the guys that we got there, and they keep doing their jobs,” Mendoza said of the Mets’ bullpen after his relievers delivered 3.2 scoreless innings allowing two hits and no walks while striking out six.

Of course, it is pretty simple for the first part of that sentence to be true when the second part is this apparent.

Through seven games, Mets relievers have posted a 1.40 ERA (second lowest in MLB), a 0.97 WHIP (sixth lowest), and are holding opponents to a .178 batting average (tied for fourth lowest) over 25.2 innings. The 'pen has a 24 to 9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

“There’s a lot of different looks, a lot of different pitch types, righty, lefties, and the biggest thing is coming into the game and attacking the strike zone,” the manager said. “They’re doing that.” 

The first man out of the bullpen on Friday was Reed Garrett, and he had no easy task as Megill departed following back-to-back one-out walks. But the right-hander needed just eight pitches to get Andrés Giménez and Alejandro Kirk swinging. 

“Reader comin' in and just dealing,” Megill said.

“He’s done it before, he keeps doing it,” the skipper added. “I like his pitches, obviously, his ability to slow the game down. Having the awareness of the situation, whether you’re trying to make a guy chase, you’re trying to get a ground ball.”

Garrett induced four whiffs, with the splitter working as the put-away pitch both times.

“This is a guy that can get righties, get lefties, get ground balls, can get swing and misses with a lot of his pitches, and he’s done that. He’s a big part of that bullpen, and he’ll continue to play a huge role.”

It was a big day for one of those relievers: childhood Mets fan Max Krannick, who again provided two innings to protect the rest of the arms.

“Krannick continues to do a helluva job on a day where we needed him to finish that game, he ended up doing that,” Mendoza said. “That goes a long way when you’re protecting the bullpen the way they’re doing. Whether it’s a [Huascar] Brazobán, whether it’s [José] Butto going multiple innings the other day, today Krannick.”

So far, that trio has provided 14.1 innings and allowed just four hits over eight scoreless outings.

“We’re gonna need all of them,” Mendoza continued. “And they’re all doing their job and their parts. And that’s good to see.”