Mets starter Jason Vargas suddenly the hottest pitcher in Flushing

An unexpected twist occurred at Citi Field on Wednesday night when New York Mets pitcher Jason Vargas pitched a shutout. Suddenly, he’s the hottest pitcher in Flushing.

In case you decided to skip New York Mets baseball on Wednesday night, let me fill you in on what you missed. On the hill against the San Francisco Giants, veteran lefty Jason Vargas shutdown and shutout the opponent. It took him 117 pitches to record all 27 outs the Giants had at their disposal. We may never see a start from him like this again.

It wasn’t masterful, dominant, or anything else like that. However, Vargas did something few pitchers do in today’s world. He went the distance. He denied Mickey Callaway a chance at an early hook. By not allowing any Giants to score, he let the bullpen rest and helped the Mets earn their first win of June with a final score of 7-0.

Suddenly, Vargas is the hottest pitcher in Flushing. His 3.57 ERA following the start is only a few above Jacob deGrom’s total. Though it was only his second win of the season, Vargas continued his 2019 journey of pitching much better than he did in 2018.

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For three straight starts, Vargas has lasted through five innings and allowed one or fewer earned runs. His opponents varied greatly with the Detroit Tigers on May 25, the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 30, and the Giants on June 5. Up against two of baseball’s worst and perhaps the National League’s best, he managed to keep his team in the game in all three starts.

Aside from the shutout versus San Francisco, Vargas excelled in other areas. He walked just one batter which was quite a feat. In his last two outings, he walked three each. The strike zone was easy to find as he also managed to strike out a season-high eight batters.

Just one day after doom and gloom flashed over the skies of Flushing as we watched the bullpen blow another, Vargas stepped up like a veteran and did what we’ve been waiting for him to do since the beginning of 2018. Starts like these are what you ask from your ace.

In a similar fashion, another Mets player worth tipping your cap at also had a big hit of his own. Adeiny Hechavarria hit his fourth home run of the season after replacing Robinson Cano. Cano left the game early when he appeared to re-injure his quad. Continuing his productive year with the Mets, Hechavarria delivered with another blast in an unexpectedly powerful campaign.

It’s important we don’t get too overexcited about Vargas’ night on the mound. He never has been an elite pitcher nor should we expect him to be.

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Nevertheless, it’s a big morale boost to watch him put together yet another noteworthy performance in a year where it feels like little is going right.