PHILADELPHIA – Tylor Megill is doing his best Jacob deGrom impression.
Again pitching in place of the injured ace, Megill delivered his second straight scoreless start and led the New York Mets over the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0 on Tuesday night.
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“Nobody expected him to pitch like Jake, and that’s exactly what he’s done," said Brandon Nimmo, who homered.
Francisco Lindor had an RBI single for the Mets, who recovered from blowing a four-run lead in the eighth inning against Philadelphia on Monday night to snap a two-game skid.
Megill (2-0) got his spot in the rotation only when deGrom, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, was sidelined by a shoulder problem in spring training.
Megill gave up just three hits, walked none and struck out five in 5 1/3 innings.
“He’s had big shoes to fill with Jake going down and he’s doing it unbelievably – even more than I think any of us could’ve hoped for,” Nimmo said. “Been amazing to watch.”
After throwing five shutout innings to win on opening day at Washington, Megill outpitched Zack Wheeler (0-1).
“It's a blast, just playing the game I love and going out and helping the team win,” Megill said.
The burly 26-year-old righty has allowed just six hits while striking out 11 without a walk in his two starts.
“Lots of confidence, for sure,” Megill said. “Obviously, all of my stuff is working really well right now. Just got to keep throwing pitch by pitch, filling up the strike zone and just keep getting ahead of hitters.”
Mets manager Buck Showalter lifted Megill in the sixth after Johan Camargo singled and went to second on Simon Muzziotti’s sacrifice bunt.
Reliever Chasen Shreve got Kyle Schwarber to ground out and fanned J.T. Realmuto to preserve a 1-0 lead.
Philadelphia threatened again in the seventh when Nick Castellanos doubled with one out, but Drew Smith struck out Rhys Hoskins and Didi Gregorius to the delight of the many Mets fans among the 26,045 in attendance at Citizens Bank Park.
“It’s a good win for us early in the season after last night,” Showalter said.
Shreve and Smith combined to give up one hit in 2 2/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
Edwin Díaz struck out three in the ninth for his first save in the combined five-hitter. He fanned Hoskins with runners on first and second to end it.
Díaz, who was seventh in the majors with 32 saves last season, rejoined the Mets on Tuesday after missing three days while on the bereavement list.
SHAKY DEFENSE
The Phillies’ balky infield defense helped the Mets gain a two-run cushion in the eighth.
A night after Alec Bohm made three errors at third base and then apologized after TV cameras caught him utter an expletive, Camargo started there on Tuesday.
Camargo’s throw to second after fielding Starling Marte’s grounder in the eighth pulled second baseman Bryson Stott off the bag. Stott recovered to force out Nimmo but couldn’t make a throw to first to complete the double play. Marte stole second and scored on Lindor’s single.
Bohm got a standing ovation before grounding out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.
“I think he handled it well,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said of the apology. “That’s about as tough a night as you can have on the field and emotions got the best of him. What I’m proud of is he owned up to it, he responded well in the game, he helped us win a game (Monday) and he learned from it. That’s what you have to do.”
ZACK ATTACK
Wheeler didn’t pitch all spring due to shoulder soreness and was shaky in the first inning, hitting a pair of batters and walking another in a 27-pitch first inning. He escaped without any runs after striking out Robinson Cano with the bases loaded.
The 2021 NL Cy Young runner-up settled in after the first, allowing only Pete Alonso’s fourth-inning single while retiring 11 of 12 batters before Nimmo’s two-out homer to right in the fifth.
That was the end of the night for Wheeler, who continued to fare well against his former team. Signed as a free agent by the Phillies in December 2019 after five seasons with the Mets, the right-hander has a 2.59 ERA in nine starts against New York. He surrendered just that lone run on two hits with three strikeouts and a walk in 4 2/3.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: RHP Taijuan Walker was put on the 10-day injured list because of bursitis in his pitching shoulder. Walker was lifted after throwing 30 pitches in his season debut on Monday night.
Phillies: Right-handed closer Corey Knebel (COVID-related IL) missed his second game in a row. … OF Odubel Herrera (oblique) began a rehab assignment at Single-A Clearwater on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer (1-0, 4.50) makes his second start since signing with the Mets in the offseason against Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (1-0, 6.00) in the conclusion of the three-game series on Wednesday afternoon.
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