On a night when the Mets added a needed starter and faced an old friend for the first time, rookie Tylor Megill was the pitcher who stole the show once again.
Hours after the Mets traded for veteran lefty Rich Hill to fortify their rotation, Megill continued his unexpected rookie ascension Friday night by outdueling former Met Steven Matz in a 3-0 win over the high-powered Blue Jays at Citi Field to open an 11-game home stand.
“It started with [Megill] joining us with a need that we had. … But this guy is here and he’s here to stay,” Mets manager Luis Rojas declared after the game. “He’s put us in a position to win a lot of games already. Excellent.
“This kid, I think I’ve said this before, he’s doing what we’ve asked of him and a lot more.”
Pete Alonso clubbed two home runs — and was shown carrying around a stuffed animal he dubbed “The Home Run Horse” in the dugout after his second blast in the eighth inning — to account for all three runs in support of Megill, the Mets’ eighth-round draft pick in 2018 out of Arizona, and three relievers.
Megill tossed six scoreless innings for the second straight start, lowering his ERA over six big league outings to 2.10.
“It just shows to myself that my stuff plays at this level,” Megill said. “I go out there thinking I’m the best man out there. There’s no reason to be scared out there. You’re there for a reason, so go out and pitch. Every time I’m out there I think I’m gonna get everybody out.
“You shouldn’t have the mindset of worry or doubt. Go out and serve it up and let ’em hit it, mano a mano.”
The 25-year-old Megill (1-0) earned his first major league win and recorded his first career hit — a single to right against Matz in the fifth inning that earned him a standing ovation.
“Awesome. For a moment I didn’t realize what was going on just because I was blacked out from getting a hit,” Megill joked. “Once I heard it, it was pretty cool, something I’ll remember forever.”
The Mets have won five of Megill’s six starts, with the lone loss coming when relievers Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz coughed up nine runs in the final two innings of a 9-7 defeat last weekend in Pittsburgh.
Diaz completed the first-place Mets’ first set of consecutive shutouts this season Friday night, after Marcus Stroman and Jeurys Familia had combined for a 7-0 one-hitter Wednesday in Cincinnati.
The 6-foot-7 Megill, who opened the season at Double-A Binghamton, allowed two singles with five strikeouts and one walk on just 78 pitches before Lugo replaced him with a 2-0 lead to start the seventh.
“Tyler’s been absolutely incredible. He’s got moxie and poise and he executes out there,” Alonso said. “He’s really coming through for us in a time of need and it’s been really fun to watch him make a huge splash.”
Alonso provided a quick 2-0 lead with a two-run blast into the left-field seats a few minutes after a scoreboard video tribute to Matz was shown in the middle of the first inning. Alonso rocked his second homer, a 450-foot clout into the second deck in left-center off lefty reliever Ryan Borucki in the eighth for a 3-0 lead.
“Definitely had some emotions out there, had a lot of family here, but after that first inning, I was able to settle down and go back to work,” Matz said.
Lugo, who was tagged for five earned runs in the eighth inning of Megill’s previous outing, worked a scoreless seventh. After Trevor May navigated the eighth unscathed, Diaz worked a perfect ninth for his 20th save, but just his first in four chances since July 10 against the Pirates.
“Six strong and our relievers go one, one, one … he did his job,” Rojas said when asked about Megill’s low pitch count. “Leaving camp, there’s no chance I think Tylor Megill is doing what he’s doing for us. I keep saying it, it’s more than we expected. This kid has been a blessing for us.”
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