Tylor Megill Strikes Out Seven in Return From IL
Monday night featured numerous storylines for the Mets. Francisco Lindor‘s return to Cleveland, Brett Baty‘s inability to produce in the clutch, and mental errors throughout the game that led to a 3-1 loss to the Guardians. However, lost in all the madness was Tylor Megill‘s return from the injured list.
The right-hander took the mound in Cleveland, returning from a shoulder strain that sidelined him since April 1. It was a fresh start for Megill, who had hype surrounding him all spring training, but never materialized it in his 2024 debut against the Brewers.
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Monday was another shot to display his talent. But Megill struggled in the first. With two outs in the inning, Megill allowed a single to José Ramírez and Josh Naylor, who ended up at second base due to an errant throw by Harrison Bader.
With runners on second and third, David Fry came up to the plate. The utility man produced for Cleveland, singling up the middle to give the Guardians a 2-0 lead. Megill followed the Fry at-bat with a walk to Will Brennan, but retired Kyle Manzardo to end the inning.
It wasn’t an ideal start for Megill. He put the Mets in a 2-0 hole after one and took 25 pitches to do so. The day was trending in the wrong direction for Megill, who only pitched four innings in his season debut. But despite the poor start, Megill prevailed.
He followed the poor first with a dominant second. Megill struck out the side, fanning Bo Naylor and Tyler Freeman with devastating splitters, and freezing Brayan Rocchio with a 97-mile-per-hour fastball.
Megill started the third in the same fashion—with a strikeout. He got former Met Andrés Giménez to swing over a splitter below the zone, who struck out for a second time. It was Megill’s fifth strikeout of the night.
Ramírez and Naylor followed in the third, and both flied out to end the inning. Megill had retired seven in a row, and hadn’t allowed a run since the first.
The remainder of Megill’s debut was solid. He allowed one more run in the fourth via a Manzardo double, but held the Guardians to three runs (two earned) over five innings. Megill also picked up two more strikeouts, finishing his start with seven total.
While the Mets eventually lost and fell to 21-26, Megill’s start in Cleveland should excite many. His fastball was sharp, and sat at 96 mph while generating whiffs. The offspeed—especially the splitter, which he and the Mets call the American Spork—was electric as well. Megill threw 11 splitters against the Guardians, and he got three whiffs off four swings.
Most importantly from Monday, Megill looked healthy on the mound. The right shoulder didn’t seem to bother the righty, who threw 43 fastballs against a potent Guardians lineup. He felt good, and despite taking the loss, is ready to build off a good start and help the Mets win.
“The stuffs good,” Megill told the media after his start. “Gotta believe the stuffs good, and then gotta go out there and pitch. The results are there and, yeah, felt good, feel good. All the stuff is working well, continue to build on that.”
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