Mets Bullpen Shines in Shutout Victory Over Padres
In Game 1 of a 2022 Wild Card Series rematch with the San Diego Padres on Monday, the Mets were the victors.
After Max Scherzer gutted through five scoreless innings, Mets manager Buck Showalter handed the ball off to the bullpen, and they were impeccable.
John Curtiss was the first man up for New York, and while he walked two, the right-hander lowered his ERA to 1.42 on the young season.
Curtiss, who missed all of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, has become a reliable arm so far for New York this year.
After Curtiss was Drew Smith, who struck out Jake Cronenworth and Rougned Odor and has now logged six strikeouts in four innings of work.
The real impressive outings, however, were that of veterans David Robertson and Adam Ottavino.
With closer Edwin Diaz on the sidelines for likely the entire season, New York needs the aforementioned arms to step up big time.
On Monday, they did.
Robertson fanned Trent Grisham and Juan Soto in a perfect eighth and also preserved his perfect 0.00 ERA in the process.
Then, Ottavino locked down the ninth with three punch outs of his own to seal the deal for New York.
Also, treat yourself to this truly filthy pitch Ottavino showed off:
The Mets bullpen has endured quite the beating in the early goings of the 2023 season.
In addition to Diaz tearing his patellar tendon in the World Baseball Classic and subsequently undergoing surgery, Bryce Montes de Oca will also miss the remainder of the year after getting Tommy John surgery. Sam Coonrod and Tommy Hunter are also on the shelf.
New York has had to tap further into their depth chart than they likely would have liked to at this early stage of the year, but still, they trudge on.
If guys like Robertson and Ottavino can shut down games, New York just needs a few solid arms in the middle of their 'pen to weather the storm for the time being.
If New York could draw up how they'd like to finish off games, Monday would be the perfect example.
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