Mets, Max Kranick believe his otherworldly start is real deal even as one streak came to end

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.A little-noticed streak came to a halt Wednesday, when Max Kranick inherited two more runners and finally allowed one to score.

The Mets reliever had begun his season by stranding all six runners whom another pitcher left on base. But here is what it took for Kranick to slightly bend: He entered a two-on, none-out jam in the fifth inning.He struck out Dane Myers on three pitches, induced a harmless flyout from Griffin Conine, and watched Nick Fortes send a bloop — 70 mph off the bat — into left field that landed in front of Brandon Nimmo for an accidental RBI single. “Got to be a little bit better,” said Kranick, as hard on himself as he is on opponents. During a two-inning, one-hit, no-run outing in the 5-0 loss to the Marlins at Citi Field, another streak continued: Kranick is now up to 14 consecutive major league innings (stretching back to his time with the Pirates in 2022) without being charged with a run.

The righty has pitched the equivalent of a full game this season, and in nine innings he has faced 29 batters and retired 27 of them, allowing just two singles and walking zero. The numbers he is posting are rarely seen outside of video games, and the team is convinced he is for real. “He continues to show it, and we’ve been running him pretty hard,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after Kranick’s fifth appearance and fourth multi-inning effort in a 12-game season.“The good thing with him is he comes in and he attacks.

He throws strikes.He’s not afraid to challenge hitters.” The Mets technically found Kranick in January 2024, when they claimed a pitcher rehabbing from Tommy John surgery from the Pirates.

But back then he was a starter, and a hamstring strain quickly derailed his spring training.He built up in lower levels, reported to Triple-A Syracuse, was not sharp and was designated for assig...