New York Mets pitchers enter Sunday with the league’s lowest ERA

Seven games into the 2018 season, the New York Mets pitching staff has been the biggest reason why they sit at 6-1. Owning the league’s lowest ERA is a major factor.

Everything finally seems to be coming together for the New York Mets pitching staff in 2018. All of the homegrown talent is healthy and the statistics are telling us how valuable that is to winning.

Because they have so many options, the Mets don’t have a roster spot wasted by a pitcher that belongs in Triple-A. This team is full of big league arms, some forced to the bullpen solely for the sake of not having room for them anywhere else.

The second Sunday of the MLB season begins with the Mets sitting comfortably with the league’s lowest ERA. Through their first seven games, Mets pitchers own a minuscule 2.14 ERA. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the only National League team within striking distance and they’re still about a half run away.

Yeah, it’s not the most important statistic to modern-day baseball minds. A low ERA still tells us that teams are having a really hard time scoring against this Mets squad.

Key players in the Mets’ success

Somewhat surprisingly, it’s not all just Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom keeping the Mets as the league leaders in this category. Syndergaard’s 5.40 ERA is actually the worst on the team. The Mets’ biggest success on the mound this year has come mostly from the back of the bullpen.

Jerry Blevins, Jeurys Familia, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, and AJ Ramos all have something in common and it’s not just their position on the team. None of allowed a run to score in 2018.

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That’s right. This group of outcasts, second-rate starters, and questionable arms have yet to allow an opposing team to score against them. Earned or unearned, nobody can cross the plate when these men are on the mound.

It’s unprecedented that five of the team’s most important relievers would have been this successful. In the early going, it’s not uncommon for someone to have a big fat ERA without the innings to lower it. None of the Mets pitchers have been hit, giving them nice round numbers.

Sunday, Matt Harvey takes the hill for the Mets in the finale of a three-game series against the Washington Nationals. Like those stud relievers mentioned above, Harvey has put up goose eggs. His first start included five shutout innings. Keeping this trend going will challenge Harvey. If pitching well is contagious, he should have no problem rolling over the Nationals.

When the season opened, New Yorkers heard a lot about how the New York Yankees bullpen was the best in baseball. At least for now, it’s the Mets whose relief corps is the envy is MLB. Though the Chicago Cubs have the lowest bullpen ERA so far, the Mets’ .158 batting average against their relief pitchers bests everyone.

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Will it continue? Is this pitching staff for real?