The New York Mets have seen their advantage over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East decrease to just 3.5 games, as of Friday afternoon.
Part of the reason behind their recent inability to keep some ground between them and the reigning World Series champions is because they haven’t had their two aces, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, for a while.
Scherzer went down on May 18 with an oblique strain, while deGrom hasn’t pitched all year with a stress reaction on his right scapula.
Scherzer, however, is about to ready to make his long-awaited return to the Mets active roster after a couple of rehab starts in Double-A Binghamton.
“More Mets news: Max Scherzer says he will come off the IL to start Tuesday in Cincinnati,” MLB.com’s beat writer for the Mets Anthony DiComo tweeted on Friday.
More Mets news: Max Scherzer says he will come off the IL to start Tuesday in Cincinnati.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 1, 2022
Scherzer pitched his last rehab start on Wednesday, and stretched out to 80 pitches.
Scherzer Is Ready To Take An MLB Mound
He declared himself ready to come back and help the Mets secure a postseason spot and, ideally, the top spot in the NL East.
Scherzer started eight games before going down, posting a solid 2.54 ERA in 49.2 innings.
He struck out 59 hitters in the process and looked downright dominant before getting injured.
On the other hand, the Mets are still waiting for deGrom.
They are discussing the possibility of having him make a rehab start, his first of the year, for Single-A St. Lucie over the weekend.
The expectation is that deGrom, who posted an incredible 1.08 ERA in 92 frames last season, makes between three and four rehab outings before returning to Queens.
If there are no setbacks along the way, that could be around late July.
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