Blade Tidwell’s Unexpected Start for the Mets

Philadelphia – Following rain in Syracuse, Blade Tidwell’s evening took an unexpected turn.

He was gearing up to play some “Fortnite” on Thursday night when suddenly, plans shifted. The desperate Mets had exhausted Justin Hagenman’s arm during their final game in Atlanta.

So, around 10 PM, Tidwell learned he would be starting on Friday.

To make room for Tidwell on the roster, the Mets decided to let Hagenman go.

“I just jumped into the car,” Tidwell remarked, reflecting on the sudden change of plans.

In his emergency start during the series opener against the Phillies, Tidwell performed adequately, though the Mets lost 10-2.

After a shaky debut on May 4 in St. Louis, where he gave up six runs in 3²/₃ innings, the 24-year-old prospect managed to throw three scoreless innings this time around.

He faced some challenges over four innings, which might be understandable given the pressure of the situation.

This was his first start of the season with only four days of rest—he typically benefits from at least five days when pitching in Syracuse.

During his last outing, he only threw 66 pitches, so manager Carlos Mendoza was cautious, trying to limit his workload.

In the fourth inning, with Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto both getting singles, and Bryson Stott drawing a walk, the bases were loaded. Tidwell did manage to induce a ground ball from Otto Kemp, but the infield turned the double play a bit slowly, allowing the first run of the game to cross the plate.

After 74 pitches and allowing four hits along with three walks, Tidwell was taken out. Jose Castillo came in and gave up one run shortly thereafter.

Mendoza expressed that he thought Tidwell’s fastballs had some life to them, and noted improvements in his cutters and sliders as well.

Tidwell commented, “It’s better than last time, but there’s still work to do,” acknowledging the areas he needs to improve on.