Tylor Megill Battles Through Five Innings Against Nats

Tylor Megill entered Friday night without a win since April 12 and had allowed at least three runs in each of his last four starts. Facing off against the Nationals, Megill dodged traffic to allow just one earned run in the Mets’ 3-2 win in their series opener in Washington.

Megill continued the trend of the Mets’ starters struggling in the first inning – allowing a two-out RBI single to Joey Meneses. The run marked the fifth straight game in which a Mets starter allowed a run and was the 35th run the Mets have allowed in the first this year. Megill walked Dominic Smith but escaped further trouble by striking out Jeimer Candelario.

Megill got into trouble again with two outs in the second – allowing a single to Jake Alu and walking Lane Thomas. He was able to get out of the inning unscathed though on a Luis García ground out. Megill walked Keibert Ruiz to lead off the third inning, but worked around it for another scoreless inning, striking out Candelario again.

Megill allowed a lead-off double to Alex Call in the fourth inning, and he came around to score on an error by Francisco Lindor. The right-hander limited the damage again, getting García to fan to end the inning. Megill pitched the only clean inning of his night in the fifth, inducing three ground outs. Thanks to  Lindor’s bases-clearing double in the top of the sixth, Megill was able to earn his fourth win of the season.

Megill didn’t register a single swing and miss on his fastball, but it averaged 94.6 miles per hour, slightly above his season average of 94.3. His breaking pitches, however, were sharp. He generated 14 whiffs on 22 attempts, including seven on his curveball. Megill recorded all four of his strikeouts on breaking balls – three on his curve and one on a slider. Megill also generated nine outs via the ground ball.

While Megill hasn’t worked very deep into games, he’s kept the team in the game in every start he’s made. His walks have continued to be an issue, but he has done a solid job at limiting damage. With the current way the rotation lines up, Megill’s next start is slated for Thursday afternoon against the Rays.

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