Griffin Canning Continues to Roll in Arizona

Griffin Canning was overlooked by plenty going into this season. After a rough time with the Los Angeles Angels, maybe all he needed was a fresh start. Well, David Stearns certainly felt that way and the decision to bring him in his paying dividends. Canning earned his fifth straight win Monday, helping the New York Mets snap a two-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

His start didn’t begin ideally. Corbin Carroll led the bottom of the first off with a home run. But after that, Canning settled in. Over the next five plus innings, the Diamondbacks weren’t able to create much traffic against the right hander. Canning allowed six hits, but the final five were all singles. He departed after beginning the bottom of the sixth with a walk to Pavin Smith.

Canning’s final line was five-plus innings, six hits, one run, one walk and six strikeouts. He moved to 5-1 on the season, lowering his ERA to 2.50. Wins have become way less important, but Canning is now just two wins shy of tying his career high in a season. He didn’t earn his fifth win of the season in 2024 until September 4.

A lot of Canning’s early success has been due in large part to his utilization of his four-seam fastball. In 2024, he gave up 16 home runs on that pitch. Opposing hitters were sitting on his fastball and punishing him for making mistakes with it in the zone. A change to his pitch mix needed to be occur. Using his fastball as a compliment to his slider and his changeup has been a complete game changer. As he’s thrown it a bit less and the other two pitches more, they’ve all become more effective.

In addition to those changes, Canning has also been able to limit the home runs. Carroll’s long ball was just the third he had given up this season in 36 innings—his first home run allowed since April 11 against the Athletics. For his career, Canning has given up 1.52 home runs per nine innings. This season, that number is down to 0.75 home runs per nine innings. That sample size is not particularly big, but we can’t ignore the positive signs.

The one thing still alluding Canning is consistent length. Through seven starts, he has thrown at least six innings once. That has been an issue for the whole rotation, not just Canning. Asking the bullpen to get 12 plus outs game after game isn’t sustainable. The starters need to begin completing six innings, pitching into the seventh inning more often.

Canning has shown what he can provide to Mets just over a month into the season. When Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas return from injury, a role should be there for him. That may be in the bullpen. That may be in the rotation. But Canning has certainly earned it.

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