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. 

Kranick faced a challenging situation when he found himself in a two-on, none-out predicament in the fifth inning. Despite the pressure, he managed to handle it skillfully. He swiftly struck out Dane Myers with just three pitches, got Griffin Conine to hit a harmless flyout, and observed Nick Fortes hit a slow bloop into left field. The bloop, which left the bat at 70 mph, dropped in front of Brandon Nimmo, resulting in an unintentional RBI single.

“Got to be a little bit better,” said Kranick, as hard on himself as he is on opponents. 

Even though the outcome was not in Kranick’s favor during the 5-0 defeat against the Marlins at Citi Field, he performed well across two innings. Notably, his impressive streak remains intact as he has now completed 14 consecutive innings in the majors without conceding a run, including his time with the Pirates in 2022.

Throughout this season, the talented right-handed pitcher has effectively pitched the equivalent of a full game. In the nine innings he has played so far, he faced 29 batters, retired 27 of them, only allowed two singles, and did not issue any walks. Kranick’s performance on the field showcases his exceptional skill and strong presence in crucial game situations.

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 assignment in May of that season. 

Twenty-nine other teams could have claimed him, and no one did.

He was outrighted off the 40-man roster and returned to Syracuse determined to improve. 

“He consistently sought out truth from player development and even the major league staff of: ‘Where do I stand?’ What do I need to do to get to where I want to go?’ ” Mets VP of pitching Eric Jagers said during camp. “And then he put his head down and worked for a really long time.” 

Looking back, Kranick said, “I wasn’t very good, to be honest.” He was still searching for his velocity coming off the hamstring strain. He had lost some confidence. 

After taking about a week to shake off the DFA frustration, Kranick and the Mets began rebuilding him. He wanted to get stronger. He had to get back in the right mental state. He was working on a sweeper. He had to find his old fastball. 

“It was kind of just strengthening everything — kind of relearning how to pitch with the new elbow, things like that,” Kranick said. “And then all those things kind of took off at once.” 

As a multi-inning reliever, Kranick pitched strongly enough from July to September that he was re-added to the 40-man roster and stunningly included on the wild-card roster.

The type of stuff that he showed in the minors has now shown up in the majors in a fairly incredible way: Opposing batters own a .068 on-base percentage against him. 

Kranick, too, believes what he is doing is real. 

“I think so,” Kranick said. “I trust my prep work and process. I’m sure I’m going to give up a run at some point, that’s just the game. But I still think I can execute better and be a little bit better stuff-wise.”