Mets’ pitching depth made the postseason possible

MILWAUKEE — Joey Lucchesi received a phone call at his West Palm Beach home on Sunday night from Mets director of pitching development Eric Jager.

The lefty was instructed to be on a plane to Atlanta first thing the next morning. Lucchesi was being positioned — if Game 161 of the season went well — to start the first meaningless game of the 2024 Mets season. Except in the aftermath of a doubleheader, a champagne-drenched David Stearns made sure — on a day of many Mets heroes — to note how meaningful Lucchesi had been.

“I’ll tell you what about Game 2 — Joey Lucchesi picked us big-time in Game 2,” Stearns said. “That’s not forgotten here. What Joey did in Game 2 sets up very well for the next three days. He’s a big part of this.”

What Lucchesi did on the surface in Game 2 is lose to the Braves, 3-0. But he got off his couch on 11 days of rest from last pitching at Triple-A to throw a career-high 111 pitches and most vitally get 18 outs. The second-most pitches thrown by a Met this year allowed major components of an overtaxed bullpen to be rested. Only Huascar Brazoban and Adam Ottavino — generally low-leverage relievers — needed to also get outs in Game 162.

It gave some form of rest for the weary pen entering Game 1 of the wild-card round. Had Lucchesi combusted, key relievers such as Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek and Danny Young might have been needed to finish the game. Instead, they were all in good form to open a best-of-three series Tuesday against the Brewers.

“I feel like I contributed,” Lucchesi said.