Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

A true battle of aces ended in victory for the New York Mets (74-40), who edged out the Philadelphia Phillies (63-50) by a score of 1-0 on Saturday night. Jacob deGrom outdueled Aaron Nola in a game where both starters were brilliant, and the Mets have won 10 of their 14 games against the Phillies this season.

All eyes were on deGrom after his impressive outing last Sunday against the Atlanta Braves, and he pulled no punches in this one. He allowed a single to Rhys Hoskins in the first inning but got out of the frame unscathed and struck out two for good measure.

Nola was not as lucky in his first inning of action, offering up an RBI single to Pete Alonso to put the Mets up 1-0. Alonso is up to 97 RBIs on the year, which leads the NL and is second in all of baseball. The Mets threatened again in the second inning with runners on first and second and one out, but Nola was able to buckle down and escape the jam without allowing any further damage.

The two aces traded shutdown innings from there. DeGrom racked up five consecutive strikeouts at one point and retired 16 consecutive batters before allowing a single to Bryson Stott in the sixth inning. DeGrom’s night was done after six scoreless innings and 76 pitches, having allowed just two hits and striking out 10 batters. It was deGrom’s 55th career double-digit strikeout game, and he set a new major league record by allowing two runs or fewer in 22 consecutive home starts.

Meanwhile, Nola had his own string of dominance, retiring 17 straight batters at one point and pitching a complete game in a losing effort. The Mets’ offense floundered after the first two innings, succumbing to the all-too-familiar pattern of failing to provide deGrom with run support.

The Mets turned to Seth Lugo in the seventh inning, and he rewarded that faith by tossing a scoreless frame. He handed the ball off to Trevor May, who struck out two and induced a weak fly out from a pinch-hitting Kyle Schwarber in an outstanding showing in the eighth.

Edwin DĂ­az proved that he is indeed human in the ninth inning, walking two batters and allowing three stolen bases. However, he struck out Nick Castellanos with two runners in scoring position to shut the door for his 27th save of the season.

Player of the Game: Jacob deGrom

It’s getting ridiculous at this point. Through three starts since returning from the IL, deGrom has pitched to the tune of a 1.62 ERA with one walk and 28 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings. He’s not quite ready to go deep into games, and yet it hasn’t really mattered given how dominant he has been.

Final line for deGrom: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 10 K

On Deck

The Mets will go for the series victory when they face off against the Phillies on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. First pitch is set for 1:40pm ET, and the game will be broadcast on PIX11. The Mets will have Chris Bassitt on the mound, while the Phillies will go with former Met Zack Wheeler.