Every time that Jason Vargas has pitched this year, the game was essentially over before many fans found their seats.
Last night, the Mets finally got an encouraging outing from the lefty. Granted, it was against the Miami Marlins, but we’ll definitely take it.
Jason Vargas was perfect through 3 innings. It was very surprising to look at the score after the first inning and see a zero next to the opposing team. It was shocking to see that zero after 3 innings.
The Mets were taking on a pitcher that they had never seen before in Elieser Hernandez. That has been a recipe for disaster for the Mets in recent years, and last night was more of the same. They were able to strike in the bottom of the 3rd however.
Sunday’s hero Amed Rosario reached on a single after a very impressive at bat. Asdrubal Cabrera doubled him home and the Mets had a 1-0 lead.
We are starting to see flashes of what made Rosario such a coveted prospect. Watch him run home on this double. Wow!
In the top of the 4th, Martin Prado singled, giving the Marlins their first base runner. Vargas got the next three hitters in order. The Marlins got a hit and a walk in the 5th, but could not capitalize as Vargas struck out the side.
That was the end of the night for Vargas who was removed after throwing 86 pitches. He kept the Marlins off the scoreboard over 5 innings of work. He allowed just 2 hits, 1 walk and struck out 7.
He lowered his ERA to 9.87, so his struggles this season have been well documented. In his defense, he really wasn’t given enough time to properly rehab after fracturing his glove hand, so maybe he got his bad outings out of the way. He was very impressive last night.
Definitely something to build on, but that still left 12 outs for the Mets’ bullpen to get. Again, they were up to the task.
The Mets’ pen provided 11 scoreless innings in the sweep of the Diamondbacks over the weekend. Sewald, Blevins, Lugo, Ramos and Familia added 4 more to secure the win over Miami.
The Mets added an insurance run in the 7th, as Wilmer Flores singled home Devin Mesoraco. Very quietly, Wilmer Flores has been pretty productive of late. I don’t see why he’s hitting 3rd in the lineup but the offense is stretched thin right now.
Devin Mesoraco was hit by a backswing which left him with a bruise on his left elbow. The team doesn’t seem too concerned, but we’ll definitely keep an eye on it.
So that’s 4 in a row. You’d definitely like to see some more offense, but they’ve managed to make it work. Conforto had 2 hits which is nice to see. Cabrera had two hits as well, continuing his phenomenal season.
Zack Wheeler gets the start tomorrow.