SAN DIEGO — Friday night will mark the first real step toward full strength for a struggling Mets rotation.
Tylor Megill is set to be activated on Friday against the Angels in what will be his first start since coming off the injured list with right biceps tendinitis. Megill, who was placed on the IL May 12, will have missed five turns through the rotation.
Carlos Carrasco will take the hill on Saturday for the Mets, followed by Taijuan Walker on Sunday. As of Thursday morning, the Angels had not yet announced when former Met Noah Syndergaard will start, but he is lined up to face his old team either on Saturday or Sunday.
Megill, who started for the Mets on Opening Day in place of the injured Jacob deGrom, had a 2.43 ERA in his first six starts of the season. Megill allowed eight runs in 1.1 innings to the Nationals on May 11, his final start before landing on the IL, a rough outing which he believes was impacted by his biceps injury.
“It’s important for everybody, but especially, Tylor was pitching real well for us for the most part when he went down,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said when asked of Megill’s return to the rotation. “So was Max [Scherzer]. We all know what Jake’s capable of.
“When you play this long, you plug one hole — I don’t want to call it a hole, because we have some pieces that are very capable — you get one thing back and something else goes away. I don’t think San Diego, for instance, without [Fernando] Tatis cares about our problems. So hang with ‘em.”
Showalter said Trevor Williams will be available to pitch out of the bullpen behind Megill, who is likely to throw around 70-75 pitches in his first time back from the IL. Williams has a 3.58 ERA in 10 games (five starts) for the Mets this season.
That will leave southpaw David Peterson, who last started on Saturday against the Dodgers, out of an immediate role. Peterson has a 2.97 ERA in seven games (six starts) for the Amazin’s, and helped the team stay afloat during the injury hits to their starting pitchers.
“We’ve got some idea where he’s going to slot back in and start again,” Showalter said of Peterson. “We’ll see how the next few days play out.”
Mets starters have produced a 5.28 ERA since Scherzer landed on the IL with a left oblique strain on May 19. Megill’s return will be the first real opportunity for the club to begin turning around its starting pitching woes. It remains a possibility that Jacob deGrom can make his 2022 debut before June is over, while Scherzer is still likely out until mid-July.
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