New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway thought he had problems when his platooning catchers both took a dive on the disabled list. However, nothing could be more devastating than losing the ace of his pitching staff with a hyperextended right elbow on one swing of a bat.
Jacob deGrom entered Wednesday night’s game riding a 3-0 record, including 14 1/3 stellar scoreless innings. In the top of the third, the one steady arm on a shaky starting rotation struck out chasing an 81 MPH slider off the plate. Grimacing in the batter’s box, he returned to the dugout convincing Callaway that he could still pitch.
After easily getting through the heart of Atlanta’s order in the fourth, the tall glass of right-handed water told the staff his biceps was sore, leaving the game in dominant fashion with no runs, two hits and six strikeouts on 46 pitches.
As the fans in Flushing anxiously await the results of a pending MRI, Callaway says he has no idea how long DeGrom will be out of commission.
“We’re not quite sure what the deal is,” Callaway said. “We won’t have any information until tomorrow.” Adding, “I’m sure I won’t sleep very good.”
For the second consecutive night, Braves pitching has gotten the best of the Mets – limiting their limp line-up to a mere three hits.
Relief was also in short supply as Paul Sewald and Robert Gsellman were rocked for a combined seven runs – including back-to-back blasts in the eighth by Johan Camargo and Ryan Flaherty.
Knocked off the top of the NL East throne for the first time this year, the Mets look to Jason Vargas to rebound from his disappointing nine run season debut in San Diego. And if the left-hander fails to lift his new team out of their funk in the series finale, Callaway won’t be the only one not getting a good night of slumber.
