Thirteen Months Later, Jacob DeGrom Hasn't Missed a Beat
In this story:
NEW YORK - A lot can happen in 13 months.
For most pitchers, an absence of over a year between starts would require having to shake the rust off before starting to look normal again.
For Mets ace Jacob deGrom, there is no rust. He is a well-oiled machine.
On Saturday in front of the largest paid crowd at Citi Field in 2022, deGrom dominated in his third start of the season.
Over six innings, the right-hander yielded just two hits and struck out 10 as he captured his second win of the year in the Mets 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
After going 5 2/3 innings in his previous start on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves, deGrom finished six strong, but was lifted in favor of reliever Seth Lugo for the seventh.
"I think it’s looking at the long term goal here," deGrom said after the game. "You've gotta take a step back and try to be smart about it. You throw in minor league games and try to get your pitch count up, but that doesn’t account for how stressful big league innings can be. So, it’s a new stress level and just trying to check off that box and hopefully for the next couple, be able to go out there and throw more pitches than tonight."
After a first inning single to Rhys Hoskins, deGrom proceeded to set down the next 16 Phillies to face him until Bryson Stott singled in the sixth inning.
DeGrom capped his day off with a strike out of Hoskins, which gave him 55 10+ strikeout games in his nine-year big league career.
The DeLand, Florida native said he felt good throughout, but the team had a cap on him in the 80 pitch range. When he was removed, he was already at 76, and he said manager Buck Showalter didn't want to send him out for the seventh inning just to face one batter.
"I noticed in (the last start against the Braves), looking at some video, there were a couple things that changed in the last inning," deGrom said. "I didn’t feel like I was getting tired against the Braves, but I noticed a couple mechanical things that changed in that sixth inning against them. They stayed really good tonight, so that was the main focus."
The team is clearly easing deGrom back into things. Another injury to their prized pitcher this year would throw a massive wrench into this team's goal to go deep into the postseason.
Showalter, when asked if deGrom will ever be fully "unshackled" this season, the manager said the team will utilize the information they have to make the proper decisions going forward.
"Unshackled? Am I shackling him? We’ve got a governor on him, how’s that?" Showalter said. "We’ll see. We’ll take every start as it comes. We’ll gather information, like all our pitchers, not just Jake. We take in all our information and we listen to him No. 1.
"Obviously, he’s got a very experienced history of what works and what doesn’t, so hopefully we’ll make good decisions and try to keep, not only him, but all our pitchers around, pass the load around our bullpen and be smart about our starters."
Even at an 80 pitch ceiling from deGrom that succeeded a Max Scherzer start that saw the 38-year-old battle through seven innings and dance around nine hits, Mets fans have a picture of what the opening of a playoff series could look like, with the two aces going back-to-back.
That energy was present at Citi Field on Saturday, and you could just visualize what it would be like on a crisp autumn night.
"I love pitching here, I love pitching in front of our fans," deGrom said. "The reception I got both times was awesome so it’s been great."
DeGrom is the last remaining member of the 2015 National League champion Mets. If they make a push this year, that reception will grow even louder.
Read More:
- Tyler Naquin Talks Playing Former Team, Joining Mets
- Starling Marte Producing at High Clip For New York Mets
- Adam Ottavino Becoming Integral Part of Mets Bullpen
Follow Rob Piersall on Twitter (@rtpiersall), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.
