It’s May 10th, and it’s probably the first game that the Mets had done what was envisioned for them at the start of the season. Star pitcher (in this case, Verlander) for seven, and the back end for the 8th and the 9th.<\/p>\n
(Editor’s note: I’m not counting the Joey Meatballs start<\/a> because nobody envisioned that.)<\/em><\/p>\n Verlander went seven innings and gave up two hits and two walks while striking out seven for a 2-1 win to get his first win against the Reds in his career<\/a>, and get Met fans some chicken soup for the soul. (Verlander now has a win against all 30 teams.) While it took until May 10th, but it only took Verlander two starts to do it which gives all of us some hope that this could actually e a regular occurrence.<\/p>\n Here’s how much the Mets really needed to see that: Verlander gave up a run in the first, but found all of his pitches in concert since then. He had retired 15 out of 16 batters through six innings. If the Mets weren’t in such a bad way and didn’t really need this game, I think Verlander gets pulled after six, even at 2-1. But with where the Mets were and were headed, I think both team and pitcher agreed that a 7th inning was necessary.<\/p>\n "Your job as a starting pitcher when it's your day and you know the bullpen is a little taxed is to go out and eat some innings. To be able to do that, it felt great and hopefully it can jump-start our rotation and just win some games"<\/p>\n – Justin Verlander pic.twitter.com\/hS4xEZfLlF<\/a><\/p>\n — SNY (@SNYtv) May 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n