Jacob deGrom continued to be the best pitcher in baseball and the Mets decided to score some runs for him and the result was a 4-0 win for the Mets Saturday night in San Diego.
deGrom had one inning where he had trouble, as the Padres loaded the bases with one out in the fourth inning. Actually, they should have scored a run but a bad read by the runner on second base on a bloop to left field only resulted in the runner going to third. deGrom took advantage of the baserunning blunder by striking out the next two hitters to end the threat.
His final line was 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB and 11 Ks. deGrom is now 5-2 with a 0.62 ERA. Seemed like he still had gas in the tank and you can make the case that he should have gone out there for the eighth inning, as he had thrown only 85 pitches. But Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz closed the door for the win.
Jose Peraza and Francisco Lindor contributed solo homers and Lindor scored an insurance run in the ninth inning by busting his tail to beat the throw to the plate on a single by Kevin Pillar.
DeGrom says he was offered the 8th but was feeling worn out or tired and coming out was on him. The only thing to say is, if there was ever a season not to push a pitcher past their own comfort zone it would be this season. If this game was in September he’d have gone out there for the 8th.
Nice to see our own $340 million dollar shortstop impact the game on the offensive side.
These are two good teams, very similar actually. Hoping Stroman keeps it going tomorrow. A split at Petco would be a victory in my book and set us up well for the Orioles series before getting the Padres at home.
As for Degrom – lowest ERA through first 9 starts in history. Needs 10 more double digit strikeout games to pass Seaver.
It is incredible to watch Jake set hitters up and get Ks on pitches that start out looking like strikes before dropping out of the strike zone. Then of course he just blows away Machado with some 100 plus heat. Then Diaz throws 102. If they can dump Cano then that trade looks better with every save. A split today at Petco would be huge given the rag tag team we have on the field. Kudos to Cohen’s off season spending on players who had a better chance to step up then just fill in. Alderson was always hampered by needing to check the five and dime section and hope that someone else’s trash could be our treasures. Lots to be excited about.
We need to give an assist to the home plate umpire here. In the first inning, the ump rang up Manny Machado on a pitch that certainly looked outside. Then the next two ABs, Machado waved weakly at pitches that were in the same spot, fearing the ump would ring him up again. And deGrom got out of the jam in the fourth inning on a check swing called by the home plate ump that may or may not have been a swing.
The home plate balls and strike calling have been atrocious
Gut Reaction: it is so enjoyable to see deGrom pitched even when it is past midnight on the east coast.
In this game, Peraza, Villar and Pillar contributed. For the season, all of them is playing pretty much as their career OPS indicates. Their contributions are one of the reasons why the Mets are in first place. Pitching and defense (#1 in DRS) are the primary reasons.
They are in a good position to obtain a split. The pitching match up favors Stroman and the bullpen will have all hands available with pending day off tomorrow.
Mets felt like a solid baseball team last night. No doubt the greatest improvement has been the defense.
Adding Lugo is a huge upgrade and gives the pen much more diversity. If Lugo can stay healthy and pitch every other day, it allows Castro to rest more. Formidable setup men.
Like tonight Rojas has May, Loup, Familia, Barnes, Smith, Reid-Foley, Gsellman and Castro rested… an embarrassment of riches. Stroman needs a solid game.
Hey, let’s hope that Jake lowers the “modern” ERA record, now held by Bob Gibson (1968; 1.12).
I checked ERAs calculated between 1901 and 1919, to see who deGrom needs to best in that period. There are only two better than Gibson’s: Dutch Leonard (1914; 0.96) and Mordecai Brown (1906; 1.04)!
And going further back to 1871, there’s Tim Keefe (1880; 0.86).
That’s it! Come on, Jake—hit 0.85!
Saw another great stat this morning
Most double digit strikeout games in pitchers first 192 starts
Ryan 56
Randy Johnson 51
Degrom 50
I love that Jake asked to come out of the game after 7 innings. It means that Luis Rojas can lean more on his ace’s honesty as a determination in future games. By Jake saying he is cooked, then Rojas can learn to trust him when he says he isn’t.
Luis needs that kind of help. Obviously Jake should pitch as long as he can in every game, especially if the outcome is still in doubt.
Very good point Wobbit