National League Cy Young Award front-runner Jacob deGrom took the mound for a Friday night matchup between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals in Washington, DC.

DeGrom, 30, came into the night leading the NL with his 1.78 earned-run average, 2.05 FIP, 8.0 fWAR, and 0.45 home runs allowed per nine innings and second-best in strikeouts (251), strikeouts per nine (11.18) and xFIP (2.68).

Jake was his usual dominant, consistent self, going seven very impressive innings, allowing one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and a walk.

This was his 23rd consecutive quality start, setting a new single-season MLB record and 28th consecutive start allowing fewer than three runs, a record he assumed earlier this season and continues to extend.

His ERA for the year dropped one-hundredth of a run to 1.77, his record went to 9-9 on the season, and he remained in fifth place on the all-time Mets single-season strikeout record with 259 (Tom Seaver, 289 in 1971) with likely one start remaining.

The Mets provided an unusual amount of run support for their ace, scoring one run in the first and three more in the third. Jay Bruce went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and Devin Mesoraco went 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

Pitching

Jacob deGrom struck out Victor Robles and Bryce Harper, who whiffed on two consecutive come-and-get-em four-seamers (98 and 99 MPH, respectively), in a clean first inning.

Anthony Rendon walked to start the second, inducing a visibly annoyed (in himself, presumably) reaction from deGrom, then Juan Soto shot a single over the first base bag, putting Washington runners on the corners with no outs.

Ryan Zimmerman drove a ball to the deepest part of the ballpark in centerfield that Nimmo got under, but brought home Rendon to tie the game.

Amed Rosario made a nice play on a Wilmer Difo groundball, tossing it to Jeff McNeil at second for the second out, then deGrom caught Difo leaning the wrong way at first, picking him off to escape the frame.

deGrom struck out Spencer Kieboom on 97 MPH high heat, Joe Ross on a nasty slider, and got Turner to fly out after a Robles base hit in a clean third inning.

Jake got Harper swinging again to start the fourth, this time on a 93 MPH slider after three straight 97-98 MPH fastballs. He caught Rendon looking at a 98 MPH tw0-seamer, then retired Soto to close out a perfect frame.

Kieboom collected the Nats’ third hit of the game with his two-out fifth-inning single, but deGrom left him stranded with his punchout of Ross, his seventh strikeout of the night.

deGrom worked a perfect sixth, striking out Turner on a sequence of four straight fastballs followed by three straight sliders, getting him swinging at the last offering.

The right-hander set down the side in order, finishing his night with seven innings pitched, with just one run allowed on three hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.

Seth Lugo pitched the bottom of the eighth. He walked Kieboom and gave up a single to Andrew Stevenson, but Kieboom made a baserunning snafu on Robles’ groundout and was tagged between second and third after the force was made at second base — a rare 5-4-5 double play.

Robert Gsellman pitched the ninth and allowed a leadoff double to Turner. Bryce Harper tattooed a ball to left field that Conforto leaped and caught for the first out. Rendon singled to score Turner and cut the Mets’ lead to 4-2.

Gsellman threw a 98 MPH fastball upstairs to strike out Soto for the second out and retired Zimmerman for his 12th save of the year.

Offense

Amed Rosario doubled to lead things off in the top of the first and came home two batters later on Jay Bruce’s opposite-field single to give the Mets an early 1-0 lead.

Devin Mesoraco, making his first start in over two weeks (neck and back stiffness), lined a one-out double over the third base bag in the second. He advanced to third on a passed ball, but Rosario popped out to left, leaving him stranded.

Michael Conforto shot an opposite-field double over Robles’ head to lead off the third and Jay Bruce followed him with a two-base hit of his own off of the right-field wall to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

Two batters later, Dom Smith split the shift through the right side of the infield to score Bruce and extend the Mets’ lead to 3-1. Todd Frazier reached on an error, then Mesoraco notched his second double of the game to make it a 4-1 game. Frazier was tagged out at home on the play.

The Mets went down in order in the top of the fourth. Brandon Nimmo drew a two-out walk in the fifth but that’s all the Mets could muster in the frame.

Mesoraco collected his third hit of the night, a single to right, with one out in the sixth, but was left on base. He reached base again in the eighth with a two-out walk, capping off his terrific return to the lineup.

Conforto drew his second walk of the night in the ninth but was left stranded. He’s walked five times over his last two games and leads MLB in extra-base hits in September (14).

On Deck

Corey Oswalt (3-2, 6.31 ERA) gets the call, assuming Zack Wheeler‘s vacated rotation spot, in the Mets’ 4:05 PM game versus the Nationals on Saturday. Tanner Roark (9-15, 4.34 ERA) will get the nod for the Nats.

The game will be televised on WPIX and can be heard on 710 AM WOR.