Just Mets

Maybe the Mets fan base need a title for when Jon Niese toes the rubber now.

There’s, “Harvey Day,” “Thors Day,” and “Hair we Go” for when the three young stud pitches takes the mound at their turns in the rotation.

But Niese doesn’t have a day, yet he’s been just as good as all three of those young pitchers over the last two months.

On Tuesday night in Miami, Niese quietly capped a string of seven impressive starts against the Marlins with seven innings of one-run baseball, a run he probably should not have given up thanks to a poor balls and strikes call from home plate umpire Angel Hernandez in the third inning.

Niese clearly threw strike three to Adeiny Hecchavarria to leadoff the inning. But instead of it being called strike three, it was ball four. Hecchavarria would later come around to score on an RBI single from Cole Gillespie.

But that was all Niese allowed in an otherwise solid effort. It was the ninth time in his last 11 starts Niese has allowed three runs or less, during which he’s posted a 2.78 ERA with a 3-4 record in 71 1/3 innings.

“He had the blip there with his wife, he wasn’t real focused, but he’s been very, very good, and again tonight, an outstanding outing,” manager Terry Collins said about his left-hander after the win on Tuesday.

He had complete command of the lower part of the strike zone, painting the corners beautifully with his two-seamer. His execution resulted in ten ground ball outs and he was able to pitch right into his defense to keep base runners from advancing. He mixed in all of his pitches real well, specifically his cutter which the Marlins did nothing with all night.

But he also did a tremendous job executing his change-up. It was consistently at 84 mph but it had a ton of movement on it, looking a lot like his two-seam fastball but slower.

“I think just commanding all my pitches, fastball command, first and foremost, just makes my secondary pitches that much better,” Niese explained of his recent success.

Niese earned his first win since July 12. He credited the offense for delivering that win.

“I try to get as many outs as I can, but right now our offense is pretty exciting,” said Niese. “At any given time in a game they can explode. So it’s a great feeling.”

It certainly is, and probably very refreshing for Niese. In his last two starts, the offense has produced 12 runs. In his previous nine starts, the offense gave him 22 runs.

The Mets are now 8-13 when Niese starts. That number should be far better because of the lack of offense earlier in the season, but also the poor defense behind him which cost him 11 unearned runs.

Neither of those problems exist anymore, and Niese has been shining through to be one of the most effective left-handed pitchers in the game in the last two months.

“This guy has been very, very good lately,” Collins said.

He has, and he has been a very valuable part of the team in 2015. He has dealt with a lot of arm problems over the last couple of years, specifically with his shoulder which appears to have diminished his stuff and reduced his effectiveness. But he has adjusted, gotten back to using all of his pitches, and seems much more consistent mechanically and with his arm slot in particular.

Not bad for a guy who was perceived as the weak link not too long ago. He now may be a key link in the Mets pitching chain.

Niese now has a 3.51 ERA for the year, good for 23rd best in the National League.