Joey Lucchesi Returns To Majors With Strong Outing

For the second straight night, a southpaw delivered a strong effort for the Mets. Making his first major league start since May 13, Joey Lucchesi delivered 5 2/3 scoreless innings, earning his second win of the season. Lucchesi threw 84 pitches, allowing just four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Lucchesi ran into trouble in the first inning – loading the bases on two walks and a single with two outs. However, he struck out Jordan Walker on a churve in the dirt to escape the inning. From there, Lucchesi found his groove, retiring 12 batters in a row.

In the second, Lucchesi struck out rookie Masyn Winn on another churve to end the frame. The lefthander got his third punchout also on a breaking ball, ringing up Paul Goldschmidt in the third inning. Lucchesi got through the fourth inning on two groundouts and a lineout. After throwing 23 pitches to get through the first inning, Lucchesi needed just 38 pitches to get through the next three innings. Lucchesi retired the first two batters in the fifth before Winn broke up the streak with an infield single. However, the lefty got Tommy Edman to whiff through a cutter for his four punchout of the night.

Lucchesi began the sixth inning by striking out Paul Goldschmidt, once again on a churve. After Nolan Arenado singled, Lucchesi retired Willson Contreras on a fielder’s choice, but Tyler O’Neill‘s double ended Lucchesi’s night. Phil Bickford kept the Cardinals off the board, striking out Alec Burleson to escape the jam.

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— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 19, 2023

“After that first inning, I just told myself, ‘Hey, just take a deep breath, it’s pitching, I’ve been doing this my whole life'”, Lucchesi said after the game.

Lucchesi registered a season-high 10 whiffs on the night. The southpaw didn’t register a whiff on his sinker, but his churve was very impressive, racking up eight swings-and-misses on 14 attempts. Lucchesi’s average fastball velocity of 90.4 miles per hour was higher than his season average of 89.6. He also generated eight outs on the ground, compared to four in the air.

Lucchesi’s season ERA is down to 3.54 across 28 big-league innings. It’s unclear if the 30-year-old will stay on the active roster, but he can prove to be a valuable depth piece for the Mets in 2024. Lucchesi has one year left of arbitration heading into 2024, and if he continues to pitch well for the remainder of the season, he could solidify himself as a starter next year. For now, the tryout for next year continues, as Lucchesi’s next projected start is in Queens against the Angels.

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