… And I didn’t like the ending.
In predictable fashion, the New York Mets wasted yet another solid start by their ace right-hander Jacob deGrom on Wednesday night, in front of a dejected crowd at Citi Field.
The Boston Red Sox completed a two game sweep of the Mets, who were shutout for the second time this season and held to an embarrassingly low two hits in the 1-0 defeat.
You didn’t need a trained eye to see that deGrom didn’t have his best stuff last night. But he still pitched good enough to win after allowing just one run and three hits while striking out nine over six innings.
It’s a travesty of epic proportions at how the Mets continue to squander start after start of arguably this generation’s greatest starting pitcher.
DeGrom has allowed just two earned runs all season long… Two earned runs!!! And he was saddled with a loss in both those games. Pathetic.
His MLB-leading 0.51 ERA is the best ever for a Mets pitcher through five starts, and his 59 strikeouts match Nolan Ryan for the most in major league history over the first five outings of a season.
Asked again about the lack of run support from his teammates, and deGrom pointed the finger directly at himself.
“I try not to think too much about it,” deGrom said. “I’m more disappointed that I didn’t make pitches there in the second inning.”
Such a class act who deserves so much better.
We should be riding deGrom’s arm into the postseason year after year. But sadly, the Mets haven’t tasted October baseball since 2016. What a wasted opportunity.
DeGrom should have at least a hundred victories at this stage of his career. But instead he has just 72 wins in eight seasons that have been plagued with anemic run support. It seems so unfair.
As Gary Cohen pointed out in last night’s telecast, the futility is tough to wrap our brain around. It was the 33rd time, deGrom has not earned a win while allowing one run or less.
The boos rained down on the team all game long with the loudest boos being reserved for Francisco Lindor who is now batting .203 with a .568 OPS in 83 plate appearances.
Dominic Smith (5-for-31 .161),
James McCann (3-for-20 .150) and Kevin Pillar (2-for-23 .087) are also struggling lately and contributing to the malaise.
The Mets now find themselves ranking dead last in the major leagues in Batting with Runners in Scoring Position (.193), and also rank last in runs per game (2.9). Their .671 OPS is the worst mark in the National League.
With the Mets idle on Thursday, they’ll have a day to regroup before beginning a three-game series against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Jacob deGrom will make his next start on Monday against the Cards in St. Louis.
