After spending the past month making his plea to go deeper into games, the Mets finally gave Joey Lucchesi a longer leash.
On Friday night, Lucchesi for the first time this season faced an opposing lineup the third time through the order. It was a big step for Lucchesi, who last faced a hitter for the third time while pitching for the Padres in 2019. The Mets, this season, had been reluctant to let him go deeper into his outings after a rough start to the year.
But now the Mets are playing a bountiful stretch of games that will force them to rely on length from their starting pitchers. Besides, Lucchesi has been excellent of late. In the Mets’ 1-0 loss to the Nationals on Friday, he deserved every bit of space Luis Rojas was willing to give him. It was Edwin Diaz who tumbled in the ninth inning of a scoreless game.
Diaz permitted a leadoff walk to Juan Soto, complete with a questionable ball-four call from home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley, to set the table for the Nationals. Soto advanced to third with no outs on Ryan Zimmerman’s single, and Yan Gomes drove him in on a walk-off single to hand the Mets their second straight loss.
Lucchesi twirled 5 1/3 shutout innings against the Nationals, permitting just two walks and four hits while striking out four. He used his unique pitch, resembling both a change-up and a curveball that he’s named the churve, to fan Soto in a dominant first inning. After posting a 9.19 ERA through his first six outings (three starts) this year, Lucchesi has a 1.19 ERA through his last five.
The 28-year-old southpaw, who the Mets acquired in a trade with the Padres back in January, left with two runners on base in the sixth inning. Miguel Castro wiped out the Nats’ threat with a double play to end the frame and preserve Lucchesi’s scoreless outing. Mets pitchers came into the ninth inning not having allowed a run through 16 innings. The staff’s 3.06 ERA entering Friday is the best in the majors.
The quandary surrounded the Mets offense, a group that has gone 21 innings without scoring a run during a fresh cold spell.
