Christian Scott 'fought' in 'gritty outing', Mets' bullpen comes up 'huge' in win over Tigers

On a night where Carson Benge was the hero with his game-winning hit in the 10th inning against the Detroit Tigers, Christian Scott and the Mets’ bullpen should not be forgotten.

While Scott only lasted 4.2 innings after throwing a season-high 89 pitches (59 strikes), he limited the damage after the Tigers scored two in the first inning to take a quick 2-0 lead.

The right-hander didn’t have his best stuff, allowing seven hits and two walks, but he battled his way through constant traffic and kept New York within striking distance while he was on the mound.

“He just had a hard time putting hitters away,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “The times that he got ahead he had a hard time – they fouled off some pitches, three-ball counts, but he fought and I thought he gave us a chance. So yeah, I think it was okay.”

Scott still finished with five strikeouts on the night which puts him at 20 Ks in 15.2 innings this year and he hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his four starts this season after holding Detroit to two earned runs. His season ERA is 3.45.

Actually, one could argue those runs should not have been charged to Scott at all after Benge misplayed a routine fly ball in right field which resulted in a double and eventually two runs scoring.

Without that mistake, which is all part of the learning experience for a rookie, it could’ve been an entirely different outing for Scott who is still searching for his first major league win.

“I thought I did a good job of filling it up,” Scott said of his start. “They had a really good game plan against me, didn’t really get a lot of swings at the top of the zone with the four-seam. Made me go deeper in counts, obviously I want to go later in the game, but all the credit goes to the bullpen.