PHILADELPHIA — With the second sport of a division collection within the stability, supervisor Carlos Mendoza believed Tylor Megill was his best choice.
Phil Maton had thrown 25 pitches Saturday.
Ryne Stanek had tossed 28, Reed Garrett 23 and David Peterson 50.
Megill reacts after a run scores on an error throughout the eighth inning of Sport 2 of the NLDS.
In home Photograph
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Publish
10/06/24 New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies at Residents Financial institution Park NLDS sport 2 N.Y. Publish: Charles Wenzelberg
Edwin Diaz already had entered (and wanted bailing out), Mendoza unleashing his greatest arm with the tying run on second and Kyle Schwarber on the plate within the seventh, when Diaz struck him out.
Jose Butto, who was not sharp, had preceded Diaz.
The one different bullpen arms not talked about are Adam Ottavino and lefty Danny Younger.
So it was Megill, who final began the Mets’ wild-card clincher in Atlanta on Monday and who gave up the game-winning single to Nick Castellanos on Sunday in a wild, 7-6 loss to the Phillies at Residents Financial institution Park to knot the NLDS at a sport apiece.
“I used to be brief immediately again there [in the bullpen],” Mendoza acknowledged after Diaz and Megill allowed 4 runs within the remaining two innings. “You’re making an attempt to avoid totally different guys since you’re going to want all of them. Not solely the high-leverage reliever guys are going to be within the sport, and I’m going to ask them to get big outs. Everyone goes to must contribute.”
Megill, who was left off the wild-card roster as a result of he had began so just lately, made a postseason debut that he won’t need to keep in mind.
He entered within the eighth inning, after Diaz had given up the go-ahead, two-run triple to Bryson Stott, and did his job.
He induced a smooth floor ball from J.T. Realmuto that ought to have been an out at residence, however third baseman Mark Vientos bobbled it, letting Stott rating and Realmuto to succeed in.
Megill then blew away Brandon Marsh and obtained Alec Bohm to foul out.
After Vientos drilled the game-tying homer within the high of the ninth, Megill returned to the mound in an outing that might have grown prolonged: There is no such thing as a ghost runner within the postseason.
Contemplating the opposite choices, Mendoza caught with a totally stretched out righty, even when Megill — who completed the season sturdy and within the beginning rotation — was not a reliever this yr.
“No problem. Standard — simply popping out in a special position,” mentioned Megill, who spent a lot of his day pacing within the bullpen. “On the finish of the day, simply obtained to make pitches. Occurred to get one away from me, and it value us the sport.”
That “one” was a slider that obtained an excessive amount of of the plate to Castellanos, who ripped it to left to jump-start a deafening celebration.
However Megill certainly regrets a two-out stroll to Trea Turner earlier than battling for seven pitches with Bryce Harper, who additionally walked, which set the stage for Castellanos.
“He was cautious with Turner, he can take you deep, as properly,” Mendoza mentioned. “After which clearly you’ve obtained to pitch round Harper, and we simply left that slider — I believe it was too good of a pitch for Castellanos, and that’s one other good hitter, and made him pay.”
That is the sort of state of affairs by which the Mets pay for a dash into the postseason by which nearly each bullpen arm has been taxed.
