The New York Mets were lauded for their construction of the rotation, especially after the team started the year with two of their top options on the injured list. But now, the Mets are in a free fall, and the team saw Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill hit the injured list as well. The Mets faithful always held out hope that reinforcements would arrive. But, they were pessimistic about the return of one specific starter, especially due to his play in injury rehab starts.
Frankie Montas was scheduled to make his Mets debut on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves. It was a huge spot for Montas, returning from a lat strain suffered in spring training. But his numbers in the minor leagues while working his way back were, to put it frankly, abysmal. We're talking a 12.05 ERA, a 2.14 WHIP, 12 strikeouts, and 10 walks in 18.2 innings. Those were...not good numbers to hold.
But Montas proved to everyone that injury rehab statistics don't really matter. That's because he provided the Mets with five strong, scoreless innings in a prime rivalry game.
Five scoreless innings and five strikeouts for Frankie Montas! pic.twitter.com/mT43D5T19Y
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 25, 2025
Frankie Montas was everything the Mets needed in debut
Montas was able to hit 98 mph on the radar multiple times during the outing. Plus, he was able to hold the Braves to just three hits.
In the third inning, Montas was in a potential jam after surrendering a single to Nick Allen and issued a walk to Ronald Acuña Jr. with one out on the board. In the next two at-bats, Montas forced Matt Olson to flyout and struck out Marcell Ozuna. Then in the fifth inning, Montas escaped with a runner on first basee by striking out Acuña and forcing Olson to fly out again to get out of the inning.
Montas threw just 80 pitches, which is understandable since this was his first major league game back from injury. But he was in a position to win the game, as the Mets were up 3-0 at the time of his departure. Unfortunately, the Mets' bullpen unraveled, as Huascar Brazobán, José Castillo, and Reed Garrett allowed five earned runs in the top of the sixth inning. The Mets ultimately lost 7-4.
While this was yet another game that showed the Mets need to address their bullpen by the trade deadline, they can take solace in the fact that Montas looked solid in his debut. Let's see if Montas can follow that up in his next start, which could be this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.