Roman Petson delivered an impressive performance in his fourth outing of the season on Tuesday. The Big Mets left-handed pitcher quickly ran into trouble when the Padres came alive with two outs. Jackson Merrill opened the scoring with an RBI single, and the threat continued shortly after.
Former Met Jose Iglesias sparked an inning with a spirited double and advanced to third on a groundout but was ultimately thrown out attempting to score on a safety squeeze bunt, thanks to a quick glove flip feed from Manaea. From that moment, Manaea regained full control, efficiently retiring the next 12 San Diego batters and finishing five strong innings.
Manaea nodded toward Carlos Mendoza in the dugout after fanning the last two batters of the fifth inning, indicating he intended to keep pitching but was held back to manage his pitch count, which had reached a season-high of 86 at that point. Mendoza noted that although Manaea could have continued, there are still many considerations with his workload, but the encouraging sign is Manaea’s eagerness to go further.
His delivery looked much improved, and overall, he appeared sharp. Manaea concluded the night allowing just three hits, no walks, and no hit batters, marking his fourth consecutive outing with only one run allowed. Though the sample size is small, his current 2.08 ERA and 0.87 WHIP are outstanding.
The Mets will be counting on Manaea to regain the stamina and impact he showed last season. While he’s still building up his pitch count, he feels like he’s fully back to form. “It feels good, I think I’m there,” he said.
Fan Take: This performance highlights Manaea’s potential as a key pitcher for the Mets this season, bringing excitement to the team’s prospects. If he continues to develop his stamina and sharpness, it could significantly impact the sport by strengthening pitching depth and raising the competitive level in the league.
