PHILADELPHIA — Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner attends a meeting as the Mets prepare for batting practice before Friday night's game against the Phillies. I was late and in a hurry.
We questioned his assistant pitching coach.
The Mets unofficial title holder has won the Cy Young Award three times, and he needs one win to reach his 200 in his career. Is required.
"I'm older than Heff, so it's not that far off," said Max Scherzer, 38, his pitching assistant nodding in agreement with his coaching moniker.
Carlos Carrasco has been on the injured list with oblique strains in recent days, andTaihuan Walker is currently dealing with a bulging disc in his back His Sunday start is still in question. The Mets will play a doubleheader at Citizens Bank his park on Saturday, placing David Peterson and Trevor Williams as starting pitchers. If Walker can't pitch on Sunday, Triple-A Syracuse's Jose his butt could make his league debut in the majors.
Scherzer wanted to know if he thinks the Mets' success in holding down the rotation this season has strengthened that unit. In the end, the Mets missed four months with Jacob deGrom to start the season, and Scherzer himself was sidelined for nearly seven weeks.
Assistant he said the pitching coach agreed on the premise, but another I thought I could say it.
Step Up This Team opportunity to contribute to the 2018 Mets," Scherzer said before the Mets' 7-2 win. “Trevor Williams, Tyler Megill and David Peterson in particular, who often answered the phone and gave our team a really good outing. Credit to everyone around them for allowing them to perform at a high level.”
Their main NL East tournaments, the Braves and Phillies, added a starting pitcher to the trade deadline. However, the Mets instead focused on platoon hitters and bullpens and kept putts. The Braves acquired Jake Odorizzi and thePhillies traded for Noah Syndergaard (39).
Deciding deGrom's return was enough to push the trade deadline, the Mets specifically looked to Peterson as their best line of defense against the rotation gap. He has appeared in 18 games with the Mets, posting a 3.30 ERA, 14 of which he has started.
"I think he's at a stage in his career where he's really trying to establish himself, be consistent, throw three pitches every game, and throw strikes consistently. ' said Scherzer. "He identifies something he wants to get better at and he's out there doing something about it."
Williams shuffled between the rotation and the bullpen, and he 's supreme success was a relief.
"He's the Swiss of this team. He's been his knife in the army, and he's been important to his staff this pitching," Scherzer said. "I don't think the fans realize how difficult it is, throwing relief, long throws from relief, spot starts, etc. It's a very difficult role to play because you never know when you're going to throw." 49}
It's clear that Scherzer enjoys almost as much between starts as he does while pitching. This staff holds together, and Scherzer is probably the glue that made the bond the strongest.
But Scherzer does not take credit for his achievement alone. In the bullpen are veterans Adam Ottavino and Tommy Hunter (returning from the IL on Sunday). Chris Basitt, who shone in Friday's series opener, is an ace who reacts to what he sees from his opponents and, according to Scherzer, passes that on to the rest of the pitching staff. Scherzer has a unique approach, especially with younger pitchers like Peterson and Megill.
"Young men, it's trail litter," said Scherzer. "You can't give them a whole cookie. You have to give them little crumbs like, 'To get from here to there, I have to do this,' and he has to take one at a time." . They want cookies, so it's gradual. They want to know everything, but they don't realize that he has to do one thing at a time. ''
Assistant his pitching solid advice from his coach.
