The New York Mets are an amazing ballclub.
They just saw the Atlanta Braves tie them at the top of the standings in the NL East, but it’s not because they are playing badly: the reigning World Series champions have been the hottest team in baseball for three months now.
That doesn’t mean the Mets are bad: to the contrary, they are one of the very best teams in MLB.
The Mets won their afternoon game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, and if they win tonight in the second end of the doubleheader, they will reclaim the first spot in the East.
Atlanta is, at the moment of writing this piece, winning against the Oakland Athletics with a 3-2 score in the sixth inning.
As Max Scherzer and Starling Marte endure untimely injuries, New York needed an inspired performance to defeat the pesky Pirates in the matinee.
Bassitt Came Through When The Mets Needed Him The Most
They got one, courtesy of Chris Bassitt.
“Once again, Chris Bassitt gave the Mets some much-needed length: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, 101 pitches. Bassitt ranks sixth in the Majors with an average of 98.4 pitches per outing. Mets 5, Pirates 1, mid-eight,” Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweeted.
Once again, Chris Bassitt gave the Mets some much-needed length:
7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, 101 pitches.
Bassitt ranks sixth in the Majors with an average of 98.4 pitches per outing.
Mets 5, Pirates 1, mid-eight.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 7, 2022
That was when the game hadn’t finished: it has already ended with a 5-1 score in favor of the Mets.
Bassitt not only provided length, but he was also utterly dominant with his 10 punchouts at PNC Park.
He now has 13 wins with a 3.24 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and 153/41 K/BB ratio through 161 1/3 innings (25 starts) this season.
Jacob deGrom will take the ball tonight to try and give the Mets the doubleheader sweep.
Overcoming the absence of Scherzer (and possibly Marte) would be hard, but there are not impossibles for the 2022 Mets.
NEXT: MLB Analyst Has A Reminder About The Mets