Megill’s rotation stay may not last
There’s a chance it could be one and done for Tylor Megill, even after Kodai Senga’s sudden injury during his season debut Friday.
Senga exited the game during the top of the sixth inning with a left calf strain while trying to scramble away from an infield pop-up.
If the ace’s injury keeps him out, the Mets expect to go back to a five-man rotation, manager Carlos Mendoza explained after the Mets’ 8-4 win Friday that earned them the top wildcard spot over the Braves.
There remains no guaranteed security for Megill in the rotation, who is replacing Christian Scott after the starter landed on the injured list for an estimated two weeks with a sprained UCL.
Prior to the game, Mendoza also didn’t know what would take shape beyond Megill’s scheduled start Saturday evening during the crucial series against their NL East rival.
“Where’s Megill? You know, the rotation, does he go back to the bullpen? Does he go back to Triple-A? There’s a lot there,” Mendoza said. “In the meantime, his job is, for Megill, tomorrow he’s gonna go out there and give us a chance, starting, and then we’ll see what we got after that.”
It appears to be a one-shot chance for the four-year hurler to showcase what he has learned from his lessthan-desirable most recent two starts for the Mets. It’s also a chance that includes a shot at extending their lead in the wild-card standings.
Megill’s last start for the Mets resulted in their blowing a five-run lead against the Astros on June 29. Mendoza said that performance came down to execution and consistency.
To Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, that seems to have improved in the minors over just less than a month thanks to a pitch-arsenal simplification.
“He’s staying away from the traditional changeup and the sweeper. We’re gonna table those for a little bit and then just stick with a sinker, cutter, four-seam, curveball, split,” Hefner told The Post.