Strong finish has Mets’ Tylor Megill feeling confident heading into offseason
Mets right-hander Tylor Megill finished his 2023 season with perhaps the best start of his career in Saturday afternoon’s 4-3 win over the Phillies in the first game of a double-dip at Citi Field.
Megill issued a pair of walks in the top of the first, but worked quickly and efficiently through the high-powered Philadelphia lineup the rest of the afternoon. He went on a stretch where he retired eight batters in a row before allowing a two-out single in the top of the fourth.
That proved to be not bother for the big righty as he kept cruising along, putting up three more effortless frames. Megill returned to the mound for the eighth inning for the first time in his career, but was quickly pulled after back-to-back singles to lead off the frame.
Brooks Raley entered and allowed one of those inherited runners to score, but held onto the lead and bail Megill out. He finished the day with a terrific line of one run on four hits while walking just two and striking out seven over 7.2 innings of work.
It’s safe to say the right-hander was encouraged with his outing.
“It was good, I’d say,” Megill told reporters postgame. “I got deep into the game and was able to go back out in the eighth, obviously didn’t finish it, but very happy with how I was able to maneuver and get deep into the game today.”
Saturday’s outing was just another quality start for Megill, who finished the year extremely strong. Across his final five outings of the season, he pitched to a stellar 2.76 ERA and 1.23 WHIP while striking out 23 batters.
After a frustrating start to the year, which saw him land back down with Triple-A Syracuse, Mets manager Buck Showalter said he’s proud of how of the 28-year-old rebounded.
“It bodes well,” he said. “I think the depth of our rotation is going to be in really good shape next year. Starts like this one and from Petey [David Peterson] over the past month have been something to make you feel good about what might be.”
Megill, who finished the season with a 4.70 ERA and 1.58 WHIP across 25 starts, is hoping to take the momentum of this strong finish into the offseason.
“It’s been a hell of a year for me grinding up and down, success and a lot of failure,” he said. “To be able to get back and finish strong it gives me a lot of confidence. It allows me to go into the offseason with positives and work on those and get it going for next year.”
