Mets hoping pitch mix-change will help get Frankie Montas on track

Frankie Montas’ four-seamer is averaging the same velocity (95.6 mph) as last year and is just a tick down from his heat in 2021 (96.4 mph), when he received Cy Young votes. Opposing batters are whiffing on 35 percent of their swings against his splitter. Metrically, his sinker and slider are not far from where they have been in past seasons.

“The stuff is good,” pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. “And he’s generally getting into some good counts. Just not able to put guys away to the clip that he would want nor we would want.”

The Mets may tinker with his actual usage Saturday in Milwaukee — when the struggling righty will pitch in some form but might follow an opener — but their attempts at fixing Montas will go beyond a possible role tweak.

Something must change as Montas has logged a 6.68 ERA in seven starts, the past two of which have been particularly discouraging (12 runs in 8 ¹/₃ innings).