Mets' rotation concerns magnified as Myers struggles in blowout loss

CINCINNATI -- Several hours before Monday’s series opener at Great American Ball Park, the Mets called up Tobias Myers to patch their rotation. Myers was not stretched out as a starter. He had allowed runs in four of his last five outings before a Minor League demotion. But he was the best option the Mets had available, and so up he came, toeing the rubber for a team in relatively dire rotation straits.

What happened next did not exactly inspire confidence that the Mets, whose rotation seems to change about twice per week, are any closer to finding starting pitching answers. Myers allowed seven runs over the first 1 1/3 innings of a 12-0 loss to the Reds, including the first of Eugenio Suárez’s two homers. The Mets couldn’t mount a fully formed comeback against National League Cy Young Award candidate Chase Burns or even Cincinnati’s shaky bullpen, leaving 12 men on base.

“It sucks,” Myers said. “You feel like you let the team down.”

Before the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza offered no assurances that Myers would continue serving as a starter -- a role he’s held in the past with the Brewers -- beyond Monday. Mendoza did say he hoped the right-hander’s time at Triple-A had helped him sharpen his fastball command near the top of the strike zone, where Myers spends much of his time as a fly-ball pitcher. But that was precisely where Suárez hurt him, on an elevated four-seamer he lifted out of the yard.

“Being behind in the count, having to come back in the count, 3-2 count, he's not going to take that pitch,” Myers said. “I didn't think it was a terrible spot, but also I think the at-bat could have been better on my end to not set me up for that situation."

When Suárez added a grand slam off Jonathan Pintaro to plate two inherited runners, Myers’ ERA rose to 5.71, including a 12.08 mark over his last 11 Major League appearances.

“I know I need to get better,” Myers said.

So if Myers isn’t the answer, who is? Earlier Monday, the Mets placed Christian Scott, one of their brightest rotation lights, on the injured list with a right hip impingement. Though Scott isn’t expected to miss much more than a fortnight, his absence leaves the Mets with yet another hole in their starting five. At least in the short-term, they plan to fill it with Kodai Senga, who hasn’t pitched since suffering a back injury in late April. Given how erratic Senga has been throughout his career, the Mets can’t be brimming with confidence that he’ll succeed.

“Guys will continue to get opportunities, and guys will need to step up,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got a lot of guys in there that are more than capable, and we need those guys to step up, especially right now when we’re banged up.”

Beyond Senga, the Mets have two rotation stalwarts in Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean, though neither has performed up to his potential. Their third spot belongs to Sean Manaea, who spent most of the early season in bullpen limbo before rejoining the rotation last week. Even if Senga claims the fourth spot, the fifth remains an open question, with Myers, Pintaro and David Peterson among those capable of providing length every fifth day.

None of them, however, have proven consistently worthy of a starting job, and the Mets don’t have any prospects knocking down the door at Triple-A. In the interim, their rotation continues to slide down MLB’s rankings, falling to 20th in the Majors in ERA after Monday’s defeat.

So despite an improved lineup and an elite bullpen, the Mets have found it difficult to win with any sort of consistency. That’s largely been due to their starting five.

“We’ll figure it out,” Mendoza said when asked specifically about the rotation spot that Myers, Peterson and others have recently occupied. “Obviously, we’ve got a few days before we have to worry about that next turn, and we’ll have those discussions. But people have to step up here.”