Sean Manaea pitched seven strong innings on Friday night. Then Luis Severino tossed the New York Mets' first nine-inning shutout in over three years on Saturday afternoon. No pressure, Paul Blackburn.
The most recent addition to the Mets' rotation will look to help his new team complete a sweep on Sunday afternoon, when New York hosts the Miami Marlins in the finale of a three-game set. Blackburn (5-3, 4.43 ERA) is slated to start against fellow right-hander Valente Bellozo (2-1, 2.
28). Severino tossed a four-hitter for his second career shutout on Saturday, and he was backed by homers from Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso in a 4-0 win. It was the first nine-inning shutout for the Mets since Jacob deGrom's two-hitter against the Washington Nationals on April 23, 2021.
The gems by Manaea -- who allowed three runs and earned the win in Friday's 7-3 victory -- and Severino provided some much-needed relief for a bullpen that was taxed over the previous six games, when the Mets went 1-5 while their starters posted a 6.83 ERA. Only Jose Quintana (6 2/3 innings in a 6-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Aug.
9) and David Peterson (6 1/3 innings in a 9-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday) pitched more than five innings during that stretch. But the only reliever to appear for the Mets against the Marlins has been Jose Butto, who tossed the final two innings of Friday's game. The rest is doubly valuable for New York, which is a game behind the Atlanta Braves in the race for the.