Kranick kicks off (another) brilliant bullpen effort to secure sweep in Queens

NEW YORK -- The bullpen was impeccable once again and helped the Mets edge the Blue Jays, 2-1, at Citi Field on Sunday afternoon.

New York swept the three-game series, but David Peterson put a scare into the team. He started the game for New York, but didn’t have the qualified five innings to get the victory. That’s because in the top of the fifth, Peterson left the game because he was feeling nauseous and lost the strike zone as the Blue Jays cut the Mets' lead to 2-1.

“We went out there and he said he felt like he [was] punched in the stomach and had blurry vision. Physically, he is fine,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Going into the game, the Mets were a little short on relievers because they have been overworked. The bullpen had already pitched 30 2/3 innings entering the game, so Mendoza was hoping that Peterson would continue and power through the nausea. But two straight walks and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch ended his day.

Peterson was replaced by right-hander Max Kranick, who was able to get out of the bases-loaded jam by inducing Alejandro Kirk to pop up to catcher Hayden Senger to end the threat.

Once again, the bullpen came through for the Mets when they needed it most. Led by Kranick, Reed Garrett, A.J. Minter and Edwin Díaz, New York shut down the Blue Jays for the final 4 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.

The bullpen has been unhittable thus far, allowing just five earned runs in 35 innings (1.29 ERA). Even more amazing, Mets relievers have allowed just two of 20 inherited runners to score.

“Look, they have been outstanding,” Mendoza said. “Kranick coming in with the bases loaded and limiting the damage, getting out of that jam, attacking the strike zone, using his pitches, not panicking and slowing the game down. [He went back out there] and he was efficient with his pitches. We have been running him pretty hard. But, man, he has been great.”

Kranick still has dreams of becoming a starter. In fact, he jokes with teammate Clay Holmes that he wants to be in the “Clay Holmes program,” where he could become a good reliever and then enter the rotation in the distant future.

“Whatever the team asks is great,” Kranick said. “Any opportunity to pitch in the big leagues is great and perfect for me.”

It was a rollercoaster ride before Kranick joined the Mets. In 2023, as a member of the Pirates, he had Tommy John surgery before he was placed on waivers and then claimed by the Mets in January of 2024.

After a successful Minor League season in the Mets organization last year, Kranick was put on New York’s NL Wild Card Series roster in October, even though he didn’t pitch for the Mets during the regular season. He didn’t appear in a game in October, either, but he learned a lot about big league life.

“[Being around the team] helped a lot,” Kranick said. “It was fun to watch and just being in the environment. I was having a conversation in Milwaukee with Adam Ottavino last year. He said, 'Being in this situation is going to help you when it is your time to pitch in the playoffs or wherever it might be.'"

The time is now as he picked up his first victory as a member of the Mets. New York scored the winning runs against Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis in the third inning. Senger scored the first run of the game on a single by Pete Alonso, while Juan Soto came in on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Nimmo.

“The bullpen has been huge for us and that’s what it is going to take,” Mendoza said. “They are not going to be perfect back there. There will be times where the offense will pick those guys up. There is going to be a stretch where the starters are going to go deep in games. That’s how it goes. It’s good we are getting the victories now.”