The Mets fought their way back from a 3-0 deficit in the seventh inning for a huge 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, and while the late burst of offense was the big story, Tylor Megill’s performance on the mound should not be overlooked.
Making just his second big league start, the 25-year-old gave the Mets another strong performance. He held the potent Atlanta offense scoreless through his fist four innings, and while he eventually gave up a three-run homer to Ozzie Albies in the fifth, he kept the Mets in the game while looking anything but a rookie pitcher making just his second start.
“That kid has pure ice through his veins,” manager Luis Rojas said afterwards. “Second outing of his career, I know he’s facing the same team, but throwing some of the pitches that he threw in the zone to these batters, facing a Freddie Freeman, (Ronald) Acuna and those guys, just having confidence to throw those pitches in some hitter’s counts and when guys were like battling and fouling pitches off, it just tells you there. Good stuff, man.
“I can tell why this kid was putting up numbers in Double-A and Triple-A. He comes in bringing the same thing he was doing down there. He’s not overdoing anything, he’s not overexcited … He’s been a blessing for us because this is one need that we had and he happened to be the guy who was throwing the ball, the best right-hander for us, and he got the call up for us and he’s been responding well.”
Megill picked up a no-decision on Tuesday, but impressed with his five innings, allowing just those three earned runs. He struck out eight Braves and walked only two, all while looking like a seasoned pro with his calm demeanor and aggressive approach.
“Very impressed. He made some really good pitches tonight. Even the homer that he gave up, it may have been a little up but it was on the outer edge,” said James McCann, one of the offensive heroes with his three-run homer. “The thing that really sticks out to me, the best way I can put it is he’s kind of like a slow-heartbeat guy.
“Even warming up for his first big league start, there’s no panic, there’s no like stressing on his part. He’s (got) an almost too-cool-for-school-type attitude, but then he gets on the mound and he competes. It’s not a lazy thing, it’s just a slow heartbeat. There’s no situation too big for him, and that’s been kind of neat to see his first two outings.”
Megill has now made each of his first two MLB starts against the Braves, going a combined 9.1 innings while allowing five earned.
And while he didn’t show much emotion on the mound, he admitted he felt some nerves back in his first start, and was happy to see some improvement his second time out.
“I’d say definitely when I’m out on the mound I have a lot of emotions going, but in a way today I was a lot more comfortable going out than my debut,” said Megill. “Obviously [my debut] was nerve-wracking, a little bit. But having seen the lineup already, coming out again I had a lot of familiarity with the lineup, and just being able to execute and do better than last time.”