Wild stat shows how bad Mets starting pitching has been

Following the New York Mets' 11-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, manager Carlos Mendoza praised Paul Blackburn for only giving up two runs in the final five innings of the game. 

Despite giving a couple of insurance runs to the Braves in the top of the sixth inning, Blackburn kept his composure and allowed Mendoza to save the bullpen for Thursday's finale against Atlanta with a crucial three-game series against the Seattle Mariners beginning on Friday.

The Mets need to save their bullpen when they can, because the starting rotation has been awful at eating innings in the last two months.

Per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the Mets have been dead last in innings received from their starting pitchers since June 13.

"The Mets have received 594 1/3 innings from their starters this season, which ranks 27th in the Majors. Since June 13 — a span of exactly two months — they are dead last in that category," DiComo posted on X. "They simply cannot keep doing this and expect to win consistently."