Mets Righthanders

It won't be long before Justin Verlander makes his Mets regular season debut.  He flashed mid-season form for most Friday's rehab start at AA Binghamton.  While Akron tagged him for a couple of long fly outs in the 1st inning, the Rubber Ducks made worse contact as the game rolled on -- capped by the future Hall of Famer striking out the final two batters of his 70-pitch, 4-2/3 inning appearance.  While neither Justin nor the Mets have said whether he'll need another tuneup before taking the mound in Queens, he looked ready enough to the crowd at Mirabito Stadium. 

While Buck Showalter can't pencil in Verlander for today's makeup doubleheader, he will depend on Denyi Reyes for some quality innings against the Braves.  After five scoreless relief appearances, he was sent back to AAA Syracuse -- but his only start on April 23rd wasn't as impressive.  The 6'4 righty threw just 20 of his 36 pitches for strikes, while giving up two runs in an inning and two-thirds.  With the Mets staff thinned by injury and Max Scherzer's suspension, they'll need Reyes to go longer and show more of the form he exhibited when working out of the bullpen.



 

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