Max Scherzer Strikes Out 10 In Dominant Citi Field Debut As Mets Sweep Double Header From Giants
NEW YORK -- On a cold evening in Flushing, Max Scherzer did not disappoint in his first start at Citi Field as a Met.
Scherzer took the mound in the nightcap of a double header with the mighty San Francisco Giants and dominated the reigning NL West champions. In a 3-1 victory, which saw the Mets sweep the double header from the Giants, the righty went seven innings on 102 pitches, allowing just one run on one hit, while striking out 10 batters and issuing three walks.
For Scherzer, this was the 105th time he has recorded double digit strikeouts in his Hall of Fame career. The righty did not allow a hit through 5 2/3 innings. He is now 3-0 on the season, winning his first three starts in a Mets uniform. The 37-year-old has a 2.50 ERA and 23 strikeouts across 18 innings during this span.
Although Scherzer posted a 2-0 record and 3.27 ERA across his first two outings of the year, Tuesday night was his best performance as a Met to date.
"I had a much better rhythm tonight of executing our game plan," said Scherzer of his latest start. "I also executed pitches at a higher clip. I felt like I was able to pitch with a higher fastball and cutter, those were the two pitches that I felt were on tonight."
While Scherzer had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings, his main goal was to go deep into the game in order to take some weight off of a bullpen that used four relievers in the first contest of the double header.
"He has got a lot of weapons and he can command them," manager Buck Showalter said of Scherzer after the game. "He doesn't have to have everything working on a given night to be successful."
"He's not doing this at 25 or 28 years old, that's what amazes me."
As for the offense, the Mets' lineup scored three runs in the third inning off Giants starter Logan Webb, which all came with two-outs. Eduardo Escobar recorded a two-run double and Dominic Smith subsequently drove him in with an RBI single. Francisco Lindor picked up where he left off in Game 1 of the double header with two more hits. Lindor finished the day with four hits, two doubles and two RBIs across two contests.
After Scherzer left the game, Drew Smith and Trevor May combined for two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to lockdown the victory.
The Mets swept a double header from a Giants team that won 107 games last season and entered the day on a five-game winning streak. So what did Scherzer take away from these two games?
"It shows you we are a good ball club," he said. "We can compete with the best. For us to be able to be neck-and-neck with them in both games shows we're a great ball club as well."
The Mets are now 9-3 in 2022 and notched their third different three-game winning streak already in this young season. New York will aim for the series victory over the Giants on Wednesday with Chris Bassitt opposing Carlos Rodon.
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