PORT ST. LUCIE — David Peterson and Tylor Megill weren’t exactly strike-throwers Sunday.
The 2 pitchers competing for the Mets’ rotation emptiness combined for nine walks over 7 ²/₃ innings, but Peterson not less than minimized damage, whereas Megill’s afternoon snowballed, with porous defense behind him a wrongdoer.
“They’re each superb,” manager Buck Showalter said after the Mets’ 8-7 exhibition loss to the Cardinals at Clover Park. “They’re physically in a great place, they got their pitch count up and I’m OK with where each those guys are.”
Ultimately, each could get a shot within the rotation to start out the season.
Showalter indicated he’s considering the opportunity of a six-man rotation for the primary turn through, because the Mets are scheduled to play eight straight days starting with the March 30 opener in Miami.
Jose Quintana’s rib surgery that can keep him sidelined not less than into July has created the rotation emptiness behind Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and Carlos Carrasco.
Peterson walked 4 over 4 shutout innings and struck out 4 with one hit allowed.
Upset with the walks, Peterson slammed his glove in disgust within the dugout after recording the ultimate out within the second inning.
“I even have mixed feelings about it, good and bad,” Peterson said about his outing. “There’s stuff I would like to scrub up and stuff that I believed I did well, but overall I got my pitches in and thought I did well and felt good about where we’re headed.”
Megill allowed six runs (three of which were unearned following two errors) on six hits and five walks over 3 ²/₃ innings.
Showalter removed the right-hander due to pitch-count concerns within the eighth after which reinserted him within the ninth.
“Not my best day to say the least,” Megill said. “I couldn’t really locate a slider today, in order that was an enormous problem and it was slightly bit far and wide. I had a great curveball today and threw some good fastballs to the highest of the zone, I used to be attempting to work today, but more walks than obligatory.”
AP
Megill pitched to a 1.93 ERA in five starts to start last season before injuries derailed him.
He has returned this spring with a decrease in fastball velocity that he has partly attributed to attempting to conserve his energy for later in the sport.
On Sunday, his four-seam fastball averaged 93.9 mph.
Last yr he averaged 95.7 mph with that pitch.
“If you find yourself up [in the regular season] it’s a very different atmosphere in comparison with spring training, adrenaline and all that other stuff, so it might be different,” Megill said.
Peterson pitched to a 3.83 ERA in 28 appearances overall for the Mets last season, 19 of which were starts. He still has not surrendered a run this spring.
“I felt like sooner or later within the day I had a great feel for all my pitches,” Peterson said. “I felt like I used to be capable of command them and see what I wanted out of them. The curveball felt good to make use of it in the center part there lots more and it just felt good to get all of them in and are available out of the sport and still feel like I had plenty more within the tank.”
Megill and Peterson are expected to receive one other piggyback start next weekend before a call is reached, whether that’s on one starter or each, with the six-man rotation potentially in play to start out the season.
“Today I didn’t [pitch] to one of the best of my ability, so obviously I’m going to be more frustrated with myself at that for the result,” Megill said. “But me and Peterson, I’m not interested by that — just individually, what my performance was.”
