The Mets placed all of their hopes on Jacob deGrom last night, and he came through with an incredible nutty performance. Despite allowing two runs in the first, deGrom recovered and did not allow the Dodgers to score the rest of the way.
While he wasn’t overpowering like he was in Game 1, last night’s start was somewhat more impressive in how he constantly worked out of trouble. He truly showed what an elite pitcher he was as he escaped numerous jams all night and came up big when he needed to the most.
At one point, the Dodgers put a runner in scoring position in four straight innings, but deGrom prevented them from scoring each time. It looked like at any moment the game could have gotten away from him, but he was completely unfazed by the pressure and kept the team in the game until they came back and took the lead.
“I think that’s probably the hardest I’ve ever had to work,” deGrom said.
“I knew from inning one it was going to be a battle. I knew then I didn’t have my best stuff. And that’s a good lineup over there. It’s not fun when you don’t have your best stuff against them.” (ESPN NY)
He finished the night allowing just two runs and six hits while striking out seven. His ERA in 13 playoff innings now stands at an excellent 1.38 and he also has recorded 20 strikeouts.
DeGrom was the key pitcher of the series for the Mets, and he is now undoubtedly the ace of the staff after his clutch NLDS performance.
“The moment is unbelievable.I knew it was going to be a close game and give us a chance to win. The guys came through and did a great job.”
