How Mets starting pitcher Tylor Megill crashed for first time this season in loss to Nationals
WASHINGTON — Through his first six starts of 2022, Tylor Megill could almost do no wrong.
The Mets' replacement for an injured Jacob deGrom had marveled. He opened the campaign with 10.1 scoreless innings, kick-started the team's second no-hitter in history and had the best ERA (2.43) among the team's rotation entering Wednesday.
After all of that transcendent success, Megill hit his first major snag of the season. A little more than a month since Megill silenced the Nationals on Opening Day, he was lit up for eight earned runs on eight hits and could only register four outs on 54 pitches against the Nationals in a 8-3 defeat at Nationals Park.
But Megill is determined to make sure that one bad outing does not unravel all of the progress he has made so far this season.
"An outing like this where obviously as bad as it went, you can’t really dwell over it," Megill said. "Just like I said, flush it. Obviously, it was a bad outing, but I’m capable of way more. I’m not going to let this one define me. Just get ready for the next one."
Megill had not given up more than two earned runs in a single inning until the first frame on Wednesday.
Juan Soto ripped a 97 mph fastball in the middle strike zone 411 feet over the right-field wall for a two-run home run. Then, Yadiel Hernandez doubled to right and Keibert Ruiz, Maikel Franco and Dee Strange-Gordon each drove in runs to put the Nationals ahead 5-3 behind five hits in the inning.
Megill could not sort through his issues in the second frame, giving up a longer three-run home run to Nelson Cruz on a hanging changeup before a walk and single chased him from the game.
"I fell behind a lot of hitters early, and just left a lot of stuff over the middle of the plate, obviously in hitter’s counts, and they did what they did with it," Megill said.
While Megill has worked through trouble in the past, he was not able to get out of harm's way this time around.
Megill struggled with his command throughout the start. While he hit 97 mph several times and his fastball velocity averaged 95.9 — a tick up from his year average — his command of his three major pitches, including his changeup and slider took a hit.
He only threw six first-pitch strikes to the 14 batters he faced. And the Nationals' hitters feasted with that advantage.
"He just never really found his step," Buck Showalter said. "I kept waiting for him to kind of fall in line like he has so many times this year. There’s always moments in games and good outings where he’s made pitches. He just didn’t do that tonight. He’s pitched so well for us that we’ll give a pass tonight."
In his previous outing against the Braves, Megill had opened with four hitless innings before he gave up a single in the fifth and three straight hits in the sixth and was ultimately responsible for three earned runs.
Megill could not find his rhythm against the Nationals either.
Back up duty
Showalter has said that it is sometimes easier to manage the bullpen in a big deficit.
Trevor Williams and Stephen Nogosek helped back up that sentiment with a strong combined effort in relief. They proved up to the task of silencing the Nationals with no earned runs and two hits allowed across the final 6⅔ innings.
"It presents us in a better light for tomorrow’s game and down the road," Showalter said. "Those are things that good teams and teams with good depth are able to do. That’s not easy. I kept thinking we might get back in it, but we just didn’t string enough (hits) together."
In long relief, Williams got the final two outs of the second inning and then gave up just one hit and one walk over the next three innings. In total, he went 3⅔ innings with two strikeouts, two hits and one walk.
Nogosek came on for his first outing for the Mets on the season and did not allow a hit. Nogosek, who had not pitched in 10 days, struck out three and gave up two walks between the sixth and eighth frames.
"It’s all in your prep work," Nogosek said. "It’s coming to the field every day, get ready to pitch and if you don’t pitch, get on the mound the next day and stay sharp, stay ready. You have to treat the bullpens before the game like it’s the eighth inning and the tying run’s on third."
Spotty offense
The Mets offense exploded out of the gate but fizzled down the stretch.
Brandon Nimmo led off the game with an opposite-field double and Starling Marte followed it up with a bunt single down the third-base line. An errant throw from Maikel Franco allowed Nimmo to score and Pete Alonso cleared the bases with his eighth home run of the season to push the Mets ahead 3-0.
Nimmo, Alonso and Luis Guillorme each had multi-hit games to account for seven of the Mets' 10 hits in the loss.
Eduardo Escobar snapped an 0-for-20 slump in the bottom of the ninth, but by then it was too late. Dominic Smith has now gone his 13 at-bats without a base hit.
"The only way you can do some of the things to get back is to swing the bat and try to stay selective in times like that," Showalter said. "A good hitter like Dom is a real challenge. He’s expanding the zone some and then when he’s hit some balls on the button, they seem to be into the shift or right at someone."
Andrew Tredinnick is the Mets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Mets analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app.
Email: atredinnick@gannett.com Twitter: @andrew_tred
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets' Tylor Megill has worst start of his season in loss to Nationals
