The Mets have lost the last two games that Jacob deGrom has started.
Jacob deGrom has been absolutely brilliant in his last two starts. Go figure.
After a brutal loss yesterday, the Mets opened a three game set in San Diego tonight. The aforementioned Jacob deGrom took the mound against Clayton Richard.
The Mets struck quickly, putting up a run in the first inning. Team MVP, Asdrubal Cabrera led off the game with a double. He came home on a Todd Frazier single. 1-0 Mets.
DeGrom was on cruise control. He allowed a single to Franchy Cordero in the 2nd, and Josè Lobatòn threw him out trying to steal! Was the defense actually gonna show up behind deGrom tonight?!
Yes. The defense was flawless tonight, after an absolutely awful series in St. Louis. The Mets had a problem reaching base against Clayton Richard, however, after their first inning score.
DeGrom and Richard went back and forth matching zeros. I can’t lie. A slight feeling of deja vù started to creep in, as we got later into the game. The Padres never really threatened deGrom, but there is no way you trust the bullpen with a one run lead lately.
Luckily, the Mets offense came alive in the 7th. Juan Lagares led off with a single. Surprisingly, Josè Lobatòn followed with a single of his own, advancing Lagares to 3rd.
Next up was Asdrubal Cabrera. Did I mention that he was the Mets MVP so far this year?
Bang! DeGrom had some runs to work with. 4-0 Mets. How big has Asdrubal Cabrera been? I don’t think you can put it into words. So many big hits. Right in the middle of so many rallies this year when we need a run. M-V-P!
The Mets weren’t done. In the top of the 8th, Juan Lagares was hit by a pitch. He came home on a double by Josè Lobatòn. Yes, Lobatòn was swinging the bat tonight and throwing out runners. Hey. We’ll take it.
So, with a 5 run lead, Jacob deGrom came out to pitch the 8th inning. He struck out pinch hitter Matt Szczur swinging. Wil Myers followed with a base hit and deGrom’s night was finished.
You feel kind of uneasy putting the ball in anyone else’s hand after such a dominating performance by deGrom, but he was at 110 pitches. Definitely the right move.
Jerry Blevins entered in relief to face Eric Hosmer. Blevins immediately fell behind 2-0 and threw Hosmer a cookie over the middle of the plate. The ball was crushed, but it stayed in the park. Michael Conforto caught it with his back against the wall and there were 2 outs. Conforto did a little jump as he secured the bal, and his partners in the outfield had a little fun with him.
AJ Ramos relieved Blevins, and he got Christian Villanueva to fly out to Cespedes. End of the 8th. 3 more outs. We can do this.
Guess who came out to pitch the 9th?
Yup. Matt Harvey. Please refrain from making any Game 5 jokes and references.
The first batter was Franchy Cordero and he hit a home run. 5-1. I’m legitimately worried at this point.
Carlos Asuaje was next and he flew out to Juan Lagares. Freddy Galvis, who made a number of sparkling plays defensively tonight, grounded into a double play and the game was over.
Whew!
The story of the night was Jacob deGrom. He was absolutely fantastic. Again. He went 7¹/³ and didn’t allow a run. He scattered 5 hits and walked 3 batters. He struck out 8 Padres.
We talked about Syndergaard’s insane strikeout to walk ratio yesterday. Well, deGrom isn’t far behind. He has 48 strikeouts to only 11 walks. DeGrom now sports a sparkling 2.06 ERA on the year.
Conforto caught Hosmer’s ball at the wall in the 8th inning. If Jay Bruce was in right field, that might have been a home run. If the game wasn’t played in San Diego, that might have been a home run. What is going on with Jerry Blevins? Very concerning, as again, he’s our only lefty reliever.
Juan Lagares had another great game. He had two hits, scored twice and was hit by a pitch. Can you think of a more valuable fourth outfielder than Lagares?
If you put Matt Harvey in the game in a blowout, he might make it impossible for the Mets to come back. If you put him in the game when the Mets have a big lead, the opposing team might be right back in the game before you know it. He was throwing 90-92 miles-per-hour tonight. Yikes.
Asdrubal? MVP!
Huge game tomorrow as we will see Jason Vargas‘ 2018 debut. The Mets will try to start another winning streak.
