2014 Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom struggled again for the third time in his last four starts on Monday. From the onset, he gave up back to back homeruns to Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo in the 1st inning and although he only gave up one run the rest of the way, he really never got into a real rhythm.
He’s now 3-4 with a 3.46 ERA.
One reason for his struggles on Monday was his lack of fastball command, deGrom walked four batters overall.
“It was one of those days,” said deGrom. “I had a hard time all night with every pitch. I wasn’t really locating everything.” (Anthony DiComo, MLB.com)
But that wasn’t Mets manager Terry Collins’ main concern. What got Collins attention was deGrom’s reactions, hanging his head after giving up the back to back first inning homers. He was also kicking the ground with his toe after issuing a walk as well.
“I saw that tonight for the first time,” Collins told reporters after the game. “But you’ve also got to also understand, he really hasn’t struggled like this before. So we’ve got to get him through it and we’ve got to get that confidence back, still trust in his stuff and make pitches with it.”
DiComo points out that deGrom got off to a good start this season, 2-1 with a 0.93 ERA in his first 3 starts and not allowing a run in more than 18 consecutive innings. However after that, deGrom has struggled, going 1-3 with a 5.64 ERA in his next 4 starts. Control has been an issue lately. After only allowing 3 walks in his first 3 starts, he’s issued 9 walks in his next 4 starts.
“That’s what made him so good last year was his location, moving it around side to side,” said Collins. “We’ve got to get him back on track.”
As good as deGrom was last season, he went through some struggles during the middle part of the year as well. He opened the season and his major league career with four solid starts, but then he gave up 13 runs in the next 15 innings. It looked like he might be sent back to the Minors but then he finished strong with a 1.99 ERA in his last 15 starts on his way to winning N.L. Rookie of the Year award.
So the Mets still have hope in deGrom and are not panicking yet. DeGrom plans on working with pitching Dan Warthen on his fastball command in a bullpen session. Other than that though, he doesn’t plan on changing much in terms of his mechanics.
“He’s a good pitcher, said Collins. “He’s going to have to fight through this stuff.”
The Mets hope Noah Syndergaard, who will be making his much anticipated major league debut on Tuesday, will put in a much better performance.
