Meyer was excellent until faltering a bit the third time around the Diamondbacks’ lineup. He’d forced 10 swings-and-misses with strikeouts over the first three innings and looked unstoppable. His slider command was perfect as it darted just below the strike zone time and time again to leave his opponents spinning. He may have leaned on that pitch a bit too much though, throwing it more than twice as much as any other pitch in his arsenal. Arizona jumped ahead after Meyer threw Corbin Carroll two straight sliders in the bottom of the zone. The first he fouled off before lacing a single on the next one. Pavin Smith homered in the next inning when similarly Meyer threw him consecutive changeups with the second getting too much of the plate. Nevertheless, it was a solid start overall for Meyer who continues to grow as a pitcher. He’s lined up for a juicy two-start week against the Reds and Mariners next week.

Meyer tied his career-long outing in this one and barely faced any resistance at all. The Mets didn’t get their first hit of the game until the sixth inning when Francisco Lindor sent a single through the hole. Then, Meyer immediately forced Juan Soto to ground into a double play which immediately neutralized the threat. Otherwise, he allowed just two other base runners and never let any reach scoring position. He had pinpoint command of his slider, which he used as his primary pitch against both right-handed and left-handed hitters, and artfully worked his fastball later in counts to steal called strikes. He’ll be tested again next week in a two-start week against the Diamondbacks and Phillies.

The 26-year-old right-hander punched out eight batters on the night while issuing a pair of walks. All of the damage done against him came in the third inning as Marcell Ozuna roped a two-run double to center and Austin Riley followed with a run-scoring single. Aside from that, Meyer was terrific. He got 15 swings and misses on 92 pitches on the night — eight of those on his slider — while posting a CSW of 28 percent. He’ll bring a 3.09 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and a 15/3 K/BB ratio (11 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s showdown against the Mets in New York.

Meyer looked good on Sunday, averaging 95.6 mph on his fastball, which is almost two mph up from last season. He also got 10 whiffs on his slider and was able to pound the strike zone with his new sinker and sweeper. The deeper pitch mix led to a 30 percent whiff rate and 34 percent CSW on 93 pitches. The only real blemish was a solo home run to Andrew McCutchen in the 2nd inning, but then a throwing error by Eric Wagaman allowed an unearned run to score in the fifth as well. Meyer has a tough outing next week against the Braves, but he’s at least worth a roster spot in most formats right now.