Joey Lucchesi's seven scoreless innings, Pete Alonso's 10th HR power Mets past Giants
New York Mets pitcher Joey Lucchesi works against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, April 21, 2023. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
SAN FRANCISCO — With their rotation in tatters and their bullpen stressed, the Mets reached deep down their depth chart Friday for yet another starting pitcher. They wound up with a savior for a night.
Lefthander Joey Lucchesi, making his first major-league appearance in nearly two years, led the Mets to a 7-0 win over the Giants with the club’s best, longest, most stunning outing of any starter this season: seven innings, nine strikeouts, six baserunners (half of them erased by double plays).
Pete Alonso homered and had four RBIs. His 10 homers, the most in Mets history before May, lead MLB and are more than the Nationals have as a team (nine).
Lucchesi’s glorious return, though, was the story. In describing the emotion of the night, he used the word “grateful” three times in less than 30 seconds.
“That,” Buck Showalter said, “was fun to watch.”
Alonso said: “He was straight carving. He was virtually perfect. We definitely needed that.”
Lucchesi, settled in after early nerves, struck out eight of his final 12 hitters. The only batter to get past first base was Wilmer Flores, who doubled in the first inning. All three of the double-play grounders came off the bats of former Mets: J.D. Davis in the first inning, helping Lucchesi escape a two-on, one-out jam; Flores to end the third inning and Flores again in the sixth, erasing a leadoff single.
In the Mets’ previous 20 games, no member of the rotation touched the mound for the seventh, let alone finished it.
“I was still a little nervous in the second. Then after that, I was like, oh, I got this. I got this,” Lucchesi said. “My rhythm was there. All my pitches, I was finding my location, my spots. Let’s go. Ride that wave. And I did.”
That was significant to Lucchesi personally and for a team that is eager for better, longer starts from a depleted rotation.
A Bay Area native, Lucchesi hadn’t appeared in the majors since June 2021. He missed the second half of that season and all of the next because of Tommy John surgery. This year, he stood little chance of making the team out of spring training. He opened the season with Triple-A Syracuse as the organization’s No. 9 starter or so.
Among the 50 relatives and friends, by his estimate, in the stands were his parents, Michelle and Ken, and his brother Matt. He usually doesn’t like them to come to his games because their presence makes him nervous.
This occasion — fortuitously in his home corner of the country — was worth an exception. “They deserve to see me,” he said. “It’s been two years. You never know how long your career will last. I was like, I’m going to invite my family. I’m glad they got to experience it firsthand.”
The Mets’ anticipated rotation, which looked like one of the best in baseball if whole, has never been whole.
Justin Verlander (right teres major strain) and Jose Quintana (rib surgery) suffered preseason injuries. Carlos Carrasco (bone chip in his right elbow) joined them this week. Then Max Scherzer was suspended by MLB for 10 games through the end of the month for violating its foreign-substance policy. Hence, going to Lucchesi, who replaced Carrasco. They’ll call on another Tuesday to fill in for Scherzer.
The Mets entered the day averaging 5.03 innings per start, 20th out of the 30 teams. Their bullpen had tossed 75 1⁄3 innings, which was the sixth most.
“You hate not being able to pitch a little deeper into the game sometimes,” Showalter said before the game. “Getting 12 to 15 outs out of your bullpen is not something you want to have happen every night. That’ll catch up with you. We’ve been able to move the load around. But hopefully we’ll get a little deeper as we go forward when we get some of our people back.”
The Mets (14-7) reached Anthony DeSclafani for four runs in five innings. He had been excellent in his first three starts — 1.42 ERA, 0.63 WHIP — but they collected seven hits and two walks against him.
Lucchesi was way better. “A lot of emotions,” he said. “You have to try to stay patient and wait for that moment. This moment for me was tonight. I’m glad I dominated.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
