In Wednesday night’s outing against the Miami Marlins, Jacob deGrom returned to the mound after missing one start to neck stiffness and he was back to his old self.
Starting the night, deGrom took a second to get in the rhythm with Jesus Aguilar reaching first on a fielding error from J.D. Davis and Corey Dickerson singling.
Yet even with two men on base, deGrom did what he does best and worked his way out of that jam. With Matt Joyce striking out swinging on an impressive 99.4 MPH fastball, deGrom then caught Brian Anderson with a tricky slider successfully retiring the side.
The two-time reigning NL Cy Young winner allowed one single in the second and third, but didn’t allow another hit until the sixth as Matt Joyce hit a single as well.
DeGrom’s final line: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, BB, 7 K, 91 pitches/67 strikes
Unfortunately for deGrom, the bullpen blew the 2-0 lead they were handed and he received another no-decision. Thanks to the ninth inning heroics of Michael Conforto, the Mets pulled away with their third straight win over the Marlins, 5-3.
The scoreless outing lowered deGrom’s ERA for the season down to 1.93 as he looks to secure a third straight Cy Young.
DeGrom explained that he, “Felt pretty good. Not pitching in 10 days, little rusty….Got tired quicker than I would have liked.”
He went on to elaborate that his “arm felt like it was dragging some” but he was “still able to locate, so (he) was able to make an adjustment.”
Though he did not allow any runs this outing, he feels that his discomfort was due to not pitching for ten days. Showing that even when deGrom has off days, he’s still elite.
n 176 career starts, Jacob deGrom has allowed one or no runs 82 times. He hasn’t lost a game in his last 12 road starts, joining Doc Gooden (1987-1988) and Ron Darling (1985-1986) as the only Mets pitchers to have such a streak.
With these numbers, there is a solid chance the Mets ace could win his third consecutive Cy Young award which would make him one of three pitchers in MLB history to do so.
