{"id":59025,"date":"2023-06-25T15:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-25T19:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=59025"},"modified":"2023-06-25T09:06:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-25T13:06:00","slug":"mets-ace-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/06\/25\/mets-ace-form\/","title":{"rendered":"Mets’ Ace Has Returned to Form"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there’s one thing about the New York Mets<\/a> that many thought would go well, it would be the starting pitching staff. Even after losing Taijuan Walker<\/a>, Chris Bassitt<\/a>, and of course, Jacob deGrom<\/a>, the rotation looked strong. Max Scherzer<\/a> and big free agent signing Justin Verlander<\/a> were primed to be an incredible duo. Along with Verlander, Jos\u00e9 Quintana and Kodai Senga<\/a> were added to the rotation. Veteran Carlos Carrasco<\/a> would hold the fifth starter spot, and Tylor Megill<\/a> and David Peterson<\/a> would be the sixth men in the rotation. Overall, it looked solid, but talent on paper doesn’t always translate on the field. Scherzer certainly has seen his fair share of struggles.<\/span><\/p>\n

[metabet_core_side_odds_tile query=”mlb\/max_scherzer\/player_30264″ size=”350×300″ site_id=”lastwordonsports”]<\/p>\n

Mets’ Ace Has Returned to Form<\/h2>\n

Max Scherzer\u2019s Slow Start<\/h3>\n

The Mets’ starting pitching staff is among the tops in MLB in walks allowed and home runs allowed. Also allowing first-inning runs constantly throughout the season. For Scherzer, the former World Series champion and 3-time CY Young award winner, it was uncharted territory. Scherzer’s first five starts of the year saw him be ineffective and struggling with his command, and even a noteworthy suspension along the way. In 22.2 innings pitched, Scherzer went 2-2 with an unprecedented 5.56 ERA. Saying the words “Max Scherzer” and “5.56 ERA” at any time in a season would shock the baseball world. His troubles didn’t end there as he also allowed 14 runs, all earned, on 22 hits and 6 home runs. The opponent’s slugging percentage was .518 with an OPS of .851 against him. His worst start of that stretch came in Detroit against the lowly Tigers<\/a> in the middle of a surprising sweep.<\/p>\n

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If you find a hitter having a better day than Eric Haase, we'll be right here. But we probably won't believe you. pic.twitter.com\/XU3t4lTWGO<\/a><\/p>\n

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 3, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n