SAN FRANCISCO — When Rafael Montero first reached the major leagues with the Mets in the spring of 2014, he was regarded as a better pitching prospect than Jacob deGrom.
But since then, the two have taken starkly divergent career paths: deGrom as one of the best young starters in baseball, and Montero as an enigma considered too inconsistent to stay in the major leagues.
Because of an injury to Zack Wheeler, the Mets gave Montero another chance in the rotation on Sunday. Montero, continuing a run of improved pitching that began in the bullpen, allowed one run and struck out seven over five and two-third innings in an 8-2 win that completed the Mets’ three-game sweep of the lowly San Francisco Giants.