Megill shows flashes of old self in return

ANAHEIM -- During his pregame press conference Friday at Angel Stadium, Mets manager Buck Showalter received so many questions about injured players -- Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, James McCann and more -- that he disappeared into his office and came out moments later holding a piece of loose-leaf paper with all the requisite updates. There were too many to keep track of without writing it down.

A few hours later, Tylor Megill did his manager a favor by making that list at least one line shorter. Although limited by a pitch count, Megill did enough in his return from the injured list to put the Mets on the proper track for a 7-3 win over the Angels.

Pitching in front of dozens of family members and friends at Angel Stadium, the Orange County native hit 98 mph with his first pitch of the game and ramped it up to 99 mph later in the inning -- numbers he hadn’t consistently delivered since April. By May, Megill was regularly giving up runs as he battled the effects of right biceps tendinitis.

Friday, those worries seemed well in the past. Megill struck out four batters and walked one over 3 1/3 innings, throwing 64 pitches as he played in Southern California for the first time since college. And although he allowed a two-run homer to Brandon Marsh, Megill received plenty of support from Brandon Nimmo and Mark Canha, who combined for three extra-base hits, three RBIs (apiece) and two runs scored.

That allowed Megill to come away pleased that he’s back moving in the right direction.

“I don’t know the cause of what happened and why it was like that,” Megill said of his arm trouble. “In ways, I was worried, just because I’ve never experienced something like that. But it wasn’t major whatsoever.”

From here, Megill’s challenge will be to stretch out to a normal starter’s workload. He’ll likely be capped at around 80 pitches in his next start at Citi Field, before the limitations disappear altogether later this month. The Mets will certainly be careful with Megill given his history as a young pitcher with escalating innings totals:

Megill’s innings, by season (all levels)

2019: 71 2/3
2020: 0
2021: 130
2022: 41 2/3

Conversations about how to keep Megill fresh through October, whether by shortening his outings or putting him in the bullpen for a spell, will come in time. For now, the Mets are simply happy to have him back in a rotation that’s still missing deGrom and Scherzer for another few weeks.

Megill’s presence allowed the Mets to shift David Peterson to the bullpen, where he provided 2 2/3 innings of relief to earn the win. And it allowed them to push back Trevor Williams, who has performed well in short spurts as a starter but hasn’t proven capable of pitching deep into games.

Megill, eventually, should be able to give the Mets more, buying them time before Scherzer’s return. Since Scherzer joined deGrom on the injured list in mid-May, Mets starters have produced a 5.28 ERA, which ranked 24th in the Majors heading into Friday. Megill is a prime candidate to help the Mets lower that.

“Once he gets dialed down a little bit, you’ll see him grab some form that he’s capable of,” Showalter said.

As for the rest, Nimmo compared getting deGrom and Scherzer back from the IL to what the Dodgers did at the Trade Deadline last year, when they acquired both Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner from the Nationals in a blockbuster deal.

“It’s going to be like that for us, except just a little bit before [the Deadline],” Nimmo said -- noting that, of course, the Mets won’t have to give anything up in those transactions. “So we’re really excited about it. But in the meantime, we’ll just keep our nose to the ground, keep trying to grind, and keep trying to put some wins together.”