By the time their April 28 game against the Washington Nationals ended, the New York Mets' starting pitching staff had set a National League record for the longest streak of allowing four or fewer runs, doing so in all 29 of their games.
David Peterson kept this streak going during New York's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Not only would this record be impressive for any team, but the fact that the Mets' rotation was thought to be a weakness for them heading into the 2025 campaign makes it even more impressive.
Then again, given who runs the Mets' pitching staff, perhaps fans were foolish to count this group out.
Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is well-respected in the baseball community for developing pitchers. And while he isn't the biggest name, Hefner received his flowers in an April 29 article from Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer that called him (and the Mets' entire staff) one of the big "Winners" of the MLB season's first 30 games.
"Still, let's be real here: The Mets are as good as they are because of a pitching staff that leads MLB with a 2.62 ERA, and not one of us saw this coming," Rymer wrote.
"The club's injured list is loaded with pitchers, including offseason signees Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. Yet the staff is second in MLB in strikeouts-per-nine, as well as second in ground-ball percentage.
"This is basically a case of pitching coach Jeremy Hefner doing it all over again," Rymer continued. "He ostensibly didn't have much to work with in 2024, yet the Mets' pitching still blew away expectations to help lead the team to the playoffs."
Hefner has already proven his immense worth for the Mets once again this year. And if the offense can start firing on all cylinders, this team will be a tough out for everyone by the postseason.
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