Mets bullpen continues to dominate, pick up Christian Scott in win over Phillies
· Yahoo Sports
It was another banner night for the Mets bullpen, and they came up huge in the team's 6-2 win over the Phillies on Saturday night.
Four relievers combined to pitch 4.2 scoreless innings against a tough Philadelphia lineup, and with the help of Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, the Mets snapped their seven-game losing streak.
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"The pitching was really good," Mets interim manager Andy Green said after the win. "For me, what [A.J.] Minter did was pretty special today. He went through the heart of the lineup in an inning-plus; there was a lot to like about today’s game."
Minter took over for starter Christian Scott in the fifth inning with a man on and one out. The veteran reliever got Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber to fly out to end the inning. Minter then followed up by pitching a scoreless sixth, working around a Bryce Harper single to get five outs for Green and the Mets. He also gave the Mets offense a chance to score four runs in the sixth to take the lead.
Huascar Brazoban, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams followed, allowing just two baserunners in the final three innings to complete the win.
"It’s no secret the starters haven’t been going deep into games, haven’t really been doing our jobs too well," Scott said of the bullpen. "But our bullpen’s kind of saving us. Especially Minter, Brazo, Weave and Devin. Just coming in and being nails every time they’re out. Gives us a chance to win deep in ballgames. Gives our offense a chance to compete later in games. They’ve been huge for us, honestly."
The Mets' bullpen has pitched to a 3.35 ERA, which is the third-lowest in the NL and the fifth-lowest in MLB. The pen also leads the majors in strikeouts with 363.
Minter, specifically, has increased his scoreless innings streak to 12 and has not allowed an earned run in his last 24 appearances. But Weaver has been especially nasty for the Mets.
The right-hander completed another shutout inning, getting Turner, Schwarber and Harper out in order, running his consecutive innings streak to 23 across 21 games. He tied Roger McDowell (1986) for the sixth-longest scoreless streak in franchise history by a relief pitcher.
"He had the heart of what they have and he had his way with it today," Green said of Weaver. "Schwarber couldn’t pick up the changeup. And the fastball is just alive right now. That combination is tough for guys."
According to Elias, since May 1, Weaver is the only relief pitcher in the majors with 20.0 innings pitched and zero runs allowed. During the same stretch, Weaver has held opposing batters to a .127 (10-79) average and has pitched to a 0.65 WHIP.
With their long losing streak snapped, the Mets will try to string together wins. If they hope to climb out of the hole they created for themselves, they'll need this performance from the bullpen.