Jacob deGrom threw 5.2 perfect innings while the Mets knocked Spencer Strider out in the third inning as they defeated the Braves, 5-2, and took the 5-game series, 4-1 over their closest competitor in the NL East.
For anyone who worried how deGrom would do after missing over a year with various injuries, he answered that with no doubts, both in his first start against the Nationals and then again today. The plan was that deGrom was going to throw six innings or 75 pitches today. And he was on fire all game.
He essentially threw just his fastball and slider and the booth was marveling all game how the Braves couldn’t touch the slider. He retired the first 17 batters he faced before issuing a walk and then a 2-run homer to Dansby Swanson on pitch 76. deGrom finished with 12 Ks.
Joely Rodriguez came on to get the final out of the sixth inning, retiring Matt Olson. Buck Showalter brought him back for the seventh and I was nervous but Rodriguez looked sharp. Showalter brought him back again for the eighth and Rodriguez again got the job done. He finished with 2.1 IP and 4 Ks.
Edwin Diaz came on and struck out the side in the ninth inning to earn his 26th save. Braves hitters struck out 19 times in the game.
Once again, the Mets put up all of their runs without the benefit of a homer. They hit some balls hard and they also were the beneficiaries of some good bounces. You can just imagine the salt in the tears of the Braves announcers and fans.
The Mets are now 8-4 against the Braves this year and hold a 6.5 game lead in the division, their largest since June 18.
LFGM
rolling rolling rolling…keep those wins a rolling…rolling rolling rolling…
Can we please just fast forward to October? I’m ready.
Well, 4 out of 5 is a nice weekend. Now time to get down to business:
The visiting Reds for 3.
The visiting Phils for 3 next weekend.
Going to Atlanta for 4 weeknight games next week.
Going to Philly for a weekend series after that.
Then going to the Bronx for 2.
Colorado coming to Citifield for 4.
Dodgers coming to Citifield for 3 the last two days in August and the 1st of September.
My point is the Mets are 5.5 games behind the Dodgers, who just swept San Diego. I feel the Mets can catch them with this starting staff but winning six of the seven against the Reds and Rockies at Citifield would be nice. By the time the Dodgers come to Citifield, it would be nice to have closed the gap a little bit. If the Mets can accomplish that, winning the Dodgers series would set the Mets up for a favorable September schedule that can give them an opportunity to have home field advantage in every playoff series.
I’d rather avoid the Braves-Padres winner than have the extra home game against the Dodgers.
Edit: But if the Padres keep losing…
Very interesting thought…
Home field though would be against the AL winner too, unless that team catches up to the Dodgers also. However, the Yankees coughed it up by trading a healthy left handed starter for an injured CF (what the heck was that?) and the Astros don’t have the firepower, IMHO.
So, would you play the Cardinals (expecting them to beat the Brewers or Giants), or the Padres/Braves winner? I feel the Padres are better than the Braves and the Cardinals, so I have to agree with you, but how do we explain how San Diego didn’t even show a pulse this past weekend getting outscored 20-4?
I wouldn’t view this weekend’s results against the Dodgers with any more significance than the Braves and this week’s results against the Mets. The Padres and Braves both ran into good teams playing at the top of their game. I’d like to believe that if we played the Braves in the playoffs that we would win but it wouldn’t be a huge shock if the Braves came out on top. We need to look no further than 2006 or 1988 for examples where the best team didn’t win in the NLCS.
Not ready to get too far ahead of things now. August is a tough month with 30 games and 2 double headers, but were off to a blazing start. I think sweeping the Reds is most in order to make it out the end of the grinder say 18-12.
The good news is September is the easiest month on the schedule and we should be able to really lay the hammer down.
Id be quite happy being 3 – 5 up by the end of the Dodgers series.
Gut Reaction: We has come to expect deGrom and Diaz to pitch well but Rodriguez was a surprise. All three pitched exceptionally well. We have come to expect Alonso to hit runners in but Canha chipped in also for two runs. The point is, everybody Is contributing to the wins. They are a balanced team.
Let’s get another series win, or better yet a sweep, against the Reds. LGM
…and I believe we will face our friend Justin Dunn tonight too.
deGrom’s slider clocked at almost 96 mph (the fastest on record)!
His fastball topped out at about 102!
Rodriguez’s change up basically unhittable! Rodriguez, Peterson and Megill in the pen? It might work!