Blade Tidwell sharper in second Mets' spot start despite little notice: ‘Just hopped in the car'
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PHILADELPHIA — After a rainout in Syracuse, Blade Tidwell was finished for the day.
He was about to begin playing some 'Fortnite' on Thursday night when his plans changed.
The pitching-desperate Mets burned Justin Hagenman's arm in relief in their finale in Atlanta.
So at about 10 p.m., Tidwell was told he was starting Friday.
To make roster space for Tidwell, the Mets optioned Hagenman
'Just hopped in the car,' Tidwell said, he and his girlfriend making the 4 ½-hour trip south and preparing in a hurry for one of the better offenses in baseball.
Tidwell was better, if not excellent, in an emergency spot start during a 10-2, series-opening loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
After a May 4 debut in St. Louis went wayward — six runs in 3 ²/₃ innings — the 24-year-old prospect held his own over three scoreless innings.
Blade Tidwell throws a pitch during the first inning of the Mets' 10-2 blowout loss to the Phillies on June 20, 2025.
AP
He ran into trouble in a fourth inning he would not escape, perhaps a victim of circumstance.
For the first time all season, he was starting consecutive games on four days' rest. He typically gets at least five days' rest with Syracuse.
In his outing Sunday, he had thrown just 66 pitches. For that reason, manager Carlos Mendoza did not want to give him much of a leash.
Blade Tidwell throws a pitch during the Mets' loss to the Phillies.
Getty Images
In the fourth inning, singles by Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto and a walk to Bryson Stott loaded the bases.
Tidwell did well to induce a ground ball from Otto Kemp, but the Brett Baty-Jeff McNeil-Pete Alonso turn was a half-step slow, allowing the game's first run to score.
The righty was pulled at 74 pitches, having allowed four hits and three walks while striking out four, and Jose Castillo entered and allowed one more run to score.
'I thought the fastball had life. I thought the cutter, shorter slider, to go with the sweeper, was a lot better, as well,' Mendoza said.
Tidwell added: 'It went better than the last, but there's still work to be done.'
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'That's really cool, someone like that, who players like myself look up to, saying something like that's pretty cool.' There was something almost cathartic about the seventh inning. It does not atone for how the Mets brushed aside the Phillies in last October's National League Division Series. But erasing a five-game deficit in the standings over 10 days counts for something. The ballpark was filled. It was muggy. Realmuto slapped Castellanos on the butt after the home-plate umpire issued a rare double-safe signal. Everyone laughed about the play. They had fun. Especially Marsh. 'It's awesome,' he said. 'It's the best feeling, especially against a good team like that in the division. We're just going to keep feeding off each other, and that's what we did. We needed it.'
