Frankie Montas won’t exactly skip his next start, but in an effort to insulate the scuffling starter pitcher, the Mets will use him in a different way Saturday in Milwaukee, potentially behind an opener.
Kodai Senga will pitch the series opener against the league-best Brewers on Friday night, with Thursday’s off-day allowing the Mets a chance to be “creative.” Paul Blackburn will make another rehab start Friday with Triple-A Syracuse, so the Mets won’t be activating him this weekend in Milwaukee.
“Maybe an opener in front of him, but as of right now, on Saturday, he’s going to play a part of that game,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Monday at Citi Field ahead of the opening contest against the Cleveland Guardians. “Depending on how we get through on Friday, we’ll see.”
After Saturday, nothing has been decided, but there are a lot of variables that can change between Saturday and another turn through the rotation.
Montas is 3-2 with a 6.68 ERA in only seven starts. The 32-year-old Dominican was solid in his Mets debut, holding the Atlanta Braves scoreless over five innings. There were two other good starts in there as well, but over his last three, he’s been inefficient at best and uncompetitive at worst. Montas allowed seven earned runs in only four innings in a loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon, walking the one batter he faced in the fifth inning.
Right-hander Austin Warren had to pick up the bulk of the innings in the game, throwing four scoreless frames with five strikeouts. It earned him a ticket back to Triple-A Syracuse, with the Mets needing a fresh arm in the bullpen. Right-hander Dom Hamel was called up Monday to take his spot.
The Mets have lost five of their last six games after winning six in a row. Starting pitching has been largely to blame. A starter hasn’t gone a full seven innings since before the All-Star break, when David Peterson threw seven in Baltimore. The Mets lost that game 3-1.
Left-hander Sean Manaea is cleared to resume a more regular workload, throwing 90 pitches or more, and Senga is as well. However, Senga hasn’t been efficient since he returned from the injured list the same day as Manaea. The club continues to say they believe they will get the length they need from their starting rotation, but Mendoza isn’t hiding the fact that the pitching situation is costing them games right now.
“We haven’t got consistency on starting pitching,” Mendoza said. “I think that’s what it starts every night, it starts on the mound. We haven’t been able to get some quality starts.”
CLOSING TIME
Closer Edwin Diaz was named the NL Reliever of the Month for July, going 2-0 with seven saves and no runs allowed in 10 games (11 innings). The right-hander allowed only four hits and struck out 18. It’s the 10th Reliever of the Month award for Diaz, and his fifth with the Mets.
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