Max Scherzer lamented his inability to go deep into Monday night’s game and Buck Showalter said the most important player of the night was someone who didn’t even pitch — right-hander Stephen Nogosek.
Early April in baseball means it’s bullpen season. Starters are still trying to work up to being able to go seven or innings or more, which means teams need just about every arm in the bullpen. This has been especially true for the Mets, who haven’t gotten a whole lot of length out of their starting staff yet this season and are struggling to make up for the losses of starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana.
Showalter wanted to acknowledge Nogosek on Monday because the right-hander’s 3 1/3 innings of relief in Sunday’s loss to the Miami Marlins allowed him to use his top relievers Monday night in a 5-0 win over the San Diego Padres.
“The key to the game was probably the job Nogosek did [Sunday],” Showalter said. “If he doesn’t do the job he did, we’re not able to pitch the game the way we did tonight.”
The Mets may be getting some relief when it comes to the middle innings soon, with right-hander Tommy Hunter (back spasms) throwing live batting practice Tuesday, a positive step toward a return to action.
Scherzer went five innings and tried to come back out for a sixth but the Mets brought in right-hander John Curtiss instead. The Mets then used right-hander Drew Smith in the seventh inning, followed by David Robertson and Adam Ottavino in innings eight and nine. With closer Edwin Diaz out for the season, this is the preferred trio for protecting leads in the later innings. Ottavino and Robertson won’t always go in that order with the matchups dictating their usage instead.
Showalter has said that they’re all capable of pitching on back-to-back days, though he would prefer not to use them on consecutive days if he can avoid it. But he may not be able to avoid it if some of the starters don’t start going deeper into games.
The Mets have not had a pitcher go seven or more innings yet this season. That’s not uncommon around this time of year and that’s not necessarily any cause for alarm, but it does put a lot of onus on the bullpen at a time when the schedule is somewhat unforgiving.
“I know what I’m capable of,” Scherzer said after throwing five innings against San Diego. “I know what I’m capable of when I pitch and locate. Getting off in 2023, I think I can continue to keep grinding and find my midseason form. It’s a challenge for everybody, we’re all trying to find that midseason form right now, and with all of the different elements and things that you’re dealing with, you’re just trying to find that form. So it’s whoever can do that fast enough right now.”
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