By Ryan Finkelstein 

Coming into Jacob deGrom‘s last start against the Miami Marlins, his second-straight Cy Young Award was basically in the bag. Barring a catastrophic performance, deGrom was on pace to become the 11th pitcher to ever win the award in back-to-back seasons.

deGrom did not disappoint, proving to everyone why he is the best pitcher in the National League, with seven shutout innings to end his Cy Young case with an exclamation point.

In the first inning, deGrom was extended to throw over 20 pitches for the only time all night. Jon Berti worked a full count, before grounding out to Robinson Cano. Then Miguel Rojas came up and after deGrom had gotten him in a two-strike count, he fouled three pitches before ultimately striking out on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Neil Walker drew a walk, the only free pass deGrom offered all game, but Starlin Castro grounded out to end the inning.

From that point on, deGrom would not need more than 14 pitches in any inning, carving up the Marlins lineup with ease.

In the second inning, Jorge Alfaro struck out to lead off the inning and then Isan Diaz picked up one of the two hits deGrom yielded all game with a basehit. Diaz was erased quickly though, as Amed Rosario and Robinson Cano turned one of the nicest double plays you will ever see. Rosario made a diving stop up the middle, flipping the ball to Cano, who caught it with his bare hand and fired it to first, beating Austin Dean by two steps.

DeGrom struck out Lewis Brinson to start off the third inning, then gave up a double to Tyler Heineman. For Heineman, it was the first hit of the 28-year-old rookie’s MLB career. deGrom settled down from there, retiring the next 14 batters that he faced.

By the end of the night, deGrom had pitched seven innings without allowing a run, finishing off his season with a 23-inning scoreless streak. deGrom set seven Marlins down on strikes in his last start, which puts his final season total at an NL-leading 255 strikeouts.

DeGrom lowered his ERA to 2.43 on the season, which leaves him just short of his second ERA-title. Although he is just points away from Hyun-Jin Ryu‘s 2.41 mark and there is still a chance that he makes one last appearance before the end of the season, with his last start coming on September 22nd.

Still, what has been most impressive about deGrom is the way he performed in the second half. Across his last 14 starts, deGrom pitched to a sparkling 1.44 ERA, while making it through seven innings in all but two of those outings. When the Mets needed him the most in September, they won four of his five starts, with the only loss coming in the disastrous bullpen meltdown against the Washington Nationals.

When deGrom was asked if he just won his second Cy Young, he said, “You know it was kind of in the back of my mind tonight, but the most important thing was to go out there and win.” deGrom continued, “Like I said last year, I kind of try to block that out and just go out and put up zeros and give these guys a chance.”

When asked what it would mean to be the first pitcher in Mets history to win back-to-back Cy Young’s he replied by saying, “That would mean a lot, it would be a huge honor. Looking at Seaver and Gooden and those guys that have pitched here, that would be a huge honor. You kind of set personal goals, but tonight we fell short of a team goal, so it’s kind of mixed emotions and nobody in here is real happy that we’re eliminated.”

While he is not the most vocal leader, deGrom leads this team by his performance, setting the tone for the rest of the staff and holding his teammates accountable when he has too. Back when he went through that rough stretch in April, there was some who were concerned about the long-term investment the Mets had made in their ace.

What deGrom has proven since, is that he is absolutely the cornerstone that this franchise should be built around. One that is worth every penny.