Confident Núñez Attacks Atlanta Hitters

On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, after Matt Olson had fouled off a couple of 3-2 sliders, Dedniel Núñez fired a 98 mph fastball over the heart of he plate. Swing and a miss.

“My confidence was at an all-time high after that first strikeout,” Núñez said through a Spanish interpreter after the game. “After I struck out Olson there, I felt almost liberated. I almost felt free at that moment. And then after that, I went into that second inning just attacking the hitters the way that I know. That’s why I was able to have success.”

That second inning was probably Núñez’s best of the year: He struck out Marcell Ozuna on three pitches (fastball, slider, slider), got Austin Riley to chase a 1-2 slider out of the zone and finished off  Sean Murphy with a 96 mph fastball.

It was two perfect innings with the Mets up 2-0 in a game they would go on to win 4-0 in front of 42,646 at Citi Field. Combined with a Phillies loss, the Mets (48-34) retook first place in the National League East by 1/2 a game.

Núñez, whose fastball hit 99 mph for the first time this season, has had seven consecutive scoreless appearances after giving up three earned runs in his season debut on May 5.

“I’m proud of myself that I felt like I’m finally me again,” Núñez said after his average fastball velocity was up 1.3 mph. “And I think that was the most important part that now I’m finally here and I’m able to help the team out the way that I want to, because that was something that was a little bit concerning early on, but now I feel like I’m back to myself.”

Núñez was excellent as a rookie last season (2-0, 2.31 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 48 strikeouts, 35 innings pitched) before a strained flexor tendon ended his season early. With injuries piling up in the starting rotation, the Mets need as many healthy and effective bullpen arms as they can get.

“Today I felt really good,” he said. “I was able to attack the hitters like I did last year. And I was really just able to focus on executing my pitches, and today I was able to help the team in any way that I could.”

“Our bullpen was nails,” Pete Alonso said. “They did a great job, and they executed all their pitches pretty much. They won every single pitch, executed flawlessly, and were phenomenal today. Yeah, you can put runs on the board, it’s awesome, but we wouldn’t have been able to do that without our pitching staff. They were phenomenal today.”

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