Jacob deGrom capped off an amazing season by going four strong innings while allowing no hits and striking out seven in the Mets 1-0 win over the Washington Nationals. For the Mets it was their 90th win of the season, the most they have had since 2006.
DeGrom etched his name into the record books in the second inning when he became just the 11th pitcher in Mets history to record 200 strikeouts in a season. And he joins only Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver as the only pitchers to notch 200 strikeouts in one of their first two major league seasons.
After winning the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2014, there was no “sophomore slump” for deGrom this season, finishing with a record of 14-8, 205 strikeouts and a 2.54 ERA – the 15th lowest single-season mark in franchise history. Since 1999, only Matt Harvey and Johan Santana had a lower ERA in a season.
Tabbed to pitch Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers, deGrom had ten starts this where he did not allow an extra base hit in the game, good for third most in Mets history. On Sunday, he didn’t allow a single hit, and neither did any Mets pitcher until Jon Niese gave up a two-out base hit in the 7th inning.
“I am excited and honored,” deGrom said said about his date with the Dodgers on Friday. “I knew today was a tuneup, so I just tried to work on some things. I feel ready and my changeup is definitely getting better, so today was a big step for me.”
“This is what we play for. To go to the postseason and try to win the World Series. We’ve had a lot of fun this year but we know we have a lot of work to do.”
DeGrom is expected to matchup against Clayton Kershaw in what should be an epic pitching battle between two of the NL’s top starters. Welcome to October baseball.
