If some of you had concerns about a potential sophomore jinx for Jacob deGrom this season, put your minds at ease.
Despite the loss and a one-hour rain delay, the reigning rookie of the year was outstanding on Wednesday night, holding the Washington Nationals scoreless for five innings after he was tagged for a two-run homer off Ryan Zimmerman in the first inning.
DeGrom needed all of 92 pitches to get the job done, but fell victim to one bad pitch he put right into Zimmerman’s wheelhouse.
“That pitch was inside. He must have just been looking for it,” deGrom said afterward. “I got it in where I wanted it. He just happened to hit it.”
In the next inning, deGrom did have a chance at redemption while batting in the eighth spot of the batting order. However he failed to execute a bunt with runners on first and second, and popped out after a diving grab by Zimmerman who ran all the way up the first-base line to make a spectacular grab.
While many will look at that play and clamor against the Mets’ new lineup, it could of happened to any batter who was facing one of the NL’s best pitchers in Jordan Zimmermann. It was no easy task.
What I loved about his mound performance was how he grinded and raised it up a notch when he needed to, almost as if he drew a line in the sand after the first and said “no more.”
He expertly mixed up his repertoire to hold the Nats scoreless from the second inning on, giving the team a chance to comeback and win the game. It never happened, but it didn’t diminish the gutsy performance we saw last night from the young sophomore.
