Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

You don’t really know what you have until it is gone. That isn’t quite true with Jacob deGrom yet, given that the Mets have always known just how special the ace starter is. However, the two-time Cy Young Award winner is certainly making up for lost time and reminding everyone just how elite he really is. That was the case yet again on Saturday.

Having not pitched all year with a stress reaction in his pitching shoulder, there were some concerns over how long it would take for deGrom to reach his peak levels of performance again. Well, those concerns were quickly answered with the 34-year-old absolutely stellar performances in his first two starts back.

While not able to go deep in games (due to pitch limits), deGrom has still been able to weave his magic in less innings and he saved his best stuff for a huge game against the Phillies on Saturday at Citi Field. After yet another impressive start from Max Scherzer was wasted in a 1-0 loss to the Phillies on Friday, the Mets needed a vintage deGrom performance in the second of a three-game series. And vintage deGrom is exactly what they got.

In front of a packed out Citi Field – 43,857 fans (the largest announced crowd at Citi Field this season) – deGrom did what all performers at the peak of their powers do and that is deliver an absolute masterclass under pressure. With all eyes on him, deGrom set out to once again remind the baseball world of what they’ve missed and why he will go down as one of the best to have ever done it.

DeGrom struck out Bryson Stott – who had the game of his life against Scherzer on Friday – and J.T. Realmuto in a fairly easy first inning, despite giving up a single to Rhys Hoskins. He struck out the side in a 1-2-3 second inning and the third and fourth also proved to be light work too. Those who packed out Citi Field to watch their ace starter do what he does best on the mound were certainly getting their money worth. And deGrom was just happy to be back out in his happy place after a long time waiting for this exact moment.

“It feels good to get out there,” deGrom said. “Like I said, I love pitching here, I love pitching in front of our fans and the reception I’ve got both times has been awesome. It has been great.”

DeGrom flew through another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth and he was tearing through the Phillies’ lineup with a fastball that looked as lethal as it has ever been. The starter threw that pitch 53% of the time with an impressive 42% whiff rate, and the fastball reached 101.7 MPH at one point. It was vintage deGrom and the Phillies couldn’t touch him.

There was no doubt that deGrom was truly locked in and he had his best stuff going, striking out another two batters in the sixth after Stott tallied a single. Everyone inside Citi Field, including deGrom himself, would have loved to have seen the four-time All-Star go deeper in the game given just how unstoppable he was proving to be. However, after a discussion with Mets’ manager Buck Showalter, it was decided that Seth Lugo would get the ball to start the seventh inning.

As frustrating as it is for a competitor to be taken out of a game when he’s mowing down batter after batter after batter without breaking a sweat, deGrom understands the need to be careful with his arm given everything he’s been through and the long road to get to this exact point.

“We had talked before,” deGrom said of his conversation with Showalter. “We’re trying to build up pitches in the major leagues, which is more high stress. We played the Braves and then the Phillies, teams that are in our division that we want to beat, so what’s the right approach? He (Showalter) said they had me around 80 and he said he wasn’t going to send me out there for one batter, so we got to seventy-six and the next few turns are in five days, so let’s focus on getting ready for the next one.”

DeGrom continued, “It is tough. You want to go out there compete. These guys did a great job of scoring one in the first and then my goal is to try and keep them at zero. It is tough, you want to be out there but, at the same time, it took that long to get back you don’t want to do anything to jeopardize being here for hopefully the push we go on and hopefully into the World Series.”

That is certainly a smart approach because the Mets can’t afford to lose deGrom again. He was at the peak of his powers on Saturday, finishing his third start back by throwing six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out 10 with no walks. It was classic deGrom at his very best and he now owns a stellar 1.62 ERA through three starts. As he has given up just six hits and one walk while striking out 28 batters in 16 2/3 innings pitched. Those are impressive numbers and the scary thing for the rest of MLB is that deGrom could be just getting started.

“You don’t really know what to expect coming back,” deGrom said. “Like I said last time out, I was able to look at a couple of things where I felt like I was getting off mechanically and try to make those adjustments while I was going through a pretty slow process of coming back. That seems to have paid off a little bit and able to come back close to where I feel I left off.”