Jacob deGrom

New York Mets: Here’s the latest update on Jacob deGrom’s health

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New York Mets, Jacob deGrom

The New York Mets came back from the dead and turned a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies last night. Had the Mets lost, their chances of advancing to the postseason would have been severely damaged. But they won, and while they aren’t in particularly good shape, they are still alive.

Jacob deGrom, the New York Mets’ ace and Cy Young Award candidate, had to leave yesterday’s start after just two innings while dealing with a right hamstring spasm. The issue sounds minor, but it is not 100% confirmed that he will be able to make his next scheduled start.

After leaving the mound in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park, he had a chat with the Mets’ trainer and, together with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, decided that it wasn’t worth risking his hamstring. DeGrom threw a water bottle to the ground in frustration.

He conceded three runs in his two innings. But the best part of the night is that the Mets ended up winning the ballgame.

“That’s big,” deGrom said to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “That’s definitely disappointing on my part, but what those guys did … is impressive. We’ve got to do that this year to the end of every game and to the end of the season to try to get in the playoffs.”

It was rookie Andres Gimenez the one that had the golden hit in the ninth frame, one that allowed the Mets to take their first lead of the night.

“Obviously, Jake going out was a big hit,” Davis said. “There wasn’t necessarily a sense of urgency, but a calmness.”

The Mets need him in one piece

The Mets absolutely need Jacob deGrom healthy to have a shot at making the playoffs.

“The back of my leg felt like it was starting to grab a little bit,” deGrom said. “It kept doing it. Once they were aware of it — I didn’t tell them about Buffalo until today — they said, ‘Hey, there’s no reason to try to push through this and hurt something.’”

The Mets will perform some tests on deGrom’s hamstring in the next couple of days to determine the next course of action.

New York Mets: deGrom Exits Early, Gimenez Gets Big Hit in 5-4 Win

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New York Mets, Andres Gimenez

Wednesday night’s matchup between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies featured a matchup of two longtime teammates. Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler faced each other for the first time, but Wheeler lasted a lot longer than back-to-back Cy Young winner did. For the Mets, if they wanted any hope at a postseason birth, they needed a victory.

From the beginning, it set up like another disappointing Mets loss. They went down 4-0 early, deGrom only lasted two innings, and their offense struggled against Wheeler. The Mets overcame all of that to pick up a huge 5-4 victory to move within 1.5 games of the Phillies. 

From the second pitch of the game, it was evident deGrom was dealing with some issue. deGrom sent glares towards the dugout, trying to let them know something was not right. After giving up three runs in the second, he did not make it back out for the third. deGrom left the game with right hamstring spasms and was visibly frustrated in the dugout.

Wacha to the Rescue

Michael Wacha gave the Mets everything they could have asked for when called into long relief duty. He gave the Mets four innings and held the Phillies to one run and kept the Mets in the game. Wacha worked around some trouble, allowing five hits, but his performance cannot go overlooked.

The comeback started with a simple Robinson Cano ground out, making it a 4-1 game. J.D. Davis made it a 4-3 game with a two-run opposite-field off Wheeler. As the game move into the late innings, Davis left his mark on this game.

With Michael Conforto on first base, his double tied the game in the eighth inning. The ball hung in the air forever, and it just made it over the glove of the leaping Adam Haseley. Conforto also had no clue on the number of outs, which made the play at the plate closer than it should have been.

Clutch Bullpen

In the bottom half of the eighth, Miguel Castro stranded runners on first and second with back to back strikeouts to move the game to the ninth inning. The Phillies made a couple of mistakes in the ninth inning to benefit the Mets. With a runner on first, Hector Neris balked to move the runner to second base.

They decided to intentionally walk Jeff McNeil to set up Andres Gimenez in his biggest spot with the Mets. The rookie came through to line a single to center field, giving the Mets a 5-4 lead. Edwin Diaz worked around a base hit to strike out three batters and pick up his biggest save of the season.

The Mets send Seth Lugo to the mound for the rubber game of this three-game series. Aaron Nola opposes him at Citizens Bank Park for the 7:05 p.m. ET start.

 

New York Mets Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (9/15-9/17)

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yankees, New York Mets, Luis Rojas

The last New York Mets series preview against the Philadelphia Phillies, at the time, was the most important series of the season. This three-game series has the same importance times ten as there are only two weeks left in the season. The Mets are 2.5 games behind the Phillies for the first wild card spot and two games behind the San Francisco Giants for the second spot.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Tuesday, (9/15) @ 7:05 p.m. ET: Rick Porcello (1-4, 6.07 ERA) vs. Jake Arrieta (3-4, 5.54 ERA)

Wednesday, (9/16) @ 7:05 p.m. ET: Jacob deGrom (4-1, 1.67 ERA) vs. TBD

Thursday, (9/17) @ 7:05 p.m. ET: Seth Lugo (2-3, 2.63 ERA) vs. TBD

Over the last 24 hours, you cannot talk about the Mets without the fantastic news of Steve Cohen signing an agreement to own 95% of the franchise. If the Mets do not make the playoffs, at least knowing Cohen is all but certain to own the team alleviates the pain.

Win or Go Home

The first game should get the same treatment a game seven would. Rick Porcello has struggled to find consistency all season and must have a short leash in game one. With Jacob deGrom and Seth Lugo following Porcello, it gives the Mets the best chance to win no matter who they face. Most likely, they will face Aaron Nola at some point in the series as well.

Beating Jake Arrieta is no easy task. He compiled two solid starts in a row, with the first coming against the Mets. As always, the ultimate goal is getting to the bullpen early in the game. It is a major Achilles heel for the Phillies, and Arrieta throws a lot of pitches early in the game, which helps the Mets cause.

With all the disappointment flooding the Mets season, they still have an opportunity to erase that during this series. Winning two is a must; three is a dream, and anything less spells the end of their season. The Phillies are the last opponent they play, which allows them to move up in the wild card hunt with victories automatically.

Stats to Lookout For

Rick Porcello vs. Didi Gregorious: 7-for-43 (.163), 2 Doubles, 2 Home Runs, 3 Walks, 7 Strikeouts

Jake Arrieta vs. Robinson Cano: 6-for-34 (.176), 2 Doubles, 4 Walks, 7 Strikeouts

Jake Arrieta vs. Jeff McNeil: 13-for-23 (.565), Double, Home Run, Strikeout

Jacob deGrom vs. Bryce Harper: 11-for-36 (.306), 2 Doubles, 2 Home Runs, 8 Walks, 12 Strikeouts

New York Mets: 10 Run Fourth Inning, Gives deGrom Plenty in 18-1 Win

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Worrying about the New York Mets providing Jacob deGrom run support seems to be a thing of the past. Their 18-run effort gave more than enough for their two-time Cy Young winner in the 18-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

deGrom did not have his best command but put up deGrom-like numbers. He threw six innings, holding the Blue Jays to one run on three hits with nine strikeouts. deGrom continues to make a strong case for a third consecutive Cy Young award as his ERA dropped to 1.67.

Erasmo Ramirez picked up the rare three-inning save in relief of deGrom. Ramirez held the Jays offense scoreless on two hits and only threw 30 pitches in the effort. His ERA is 1.13 through his first eight innings with the Mets.

Relentless Offense

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s RBI single in the first inning was the only bright spot for the Blue Jays. After that, the Mets got things going with four runs in the third inning, highlighted by a Michael Conforto three-run home run.

The offense went bezerk in the fourth inning with ten runs. J.D. Davis started things off with an RBI fielders choice, then Dominic Smith hit a grand slam to break the game open to 9-1. Wilson Ramos contributed a three-run double, making it 12-1. The final two runs of the inning came in on a Conforto single, and Davis double.

Every starter in the lineup recorded a hit other than Pete Alonso. McNeil, Ramos, and Robinson Cano led the way with their three hits. 8 of the Mets 19 hits were for extra bases, and those same numbers (8-for-19) are how they hit with runners in scoring position.

The Mets hope to put up another similar offensive output with Seth Lugo on the mound for the second game of the series. Toronto has not named their starter for game two, but game time is 6:37 p.m. ET from Buffalo.

 

New York Mets Series Preview: Toronto Blue Jays (9/11-9/13)

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New York Mets, Pete Alonso

The New York Mets head up to Buffalo to take on the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game weekend series. Toronto comes off taking two of three from the New York Yankees, while the Mets come off a two-game split against the Baltimore Orioles.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday, (9/11) @ 6:37 p.m. ET: Jacob deGrom (3-1, 1.69 ERA) vs. Chase Anderson (0-0, 4.94 ERA)

Saturday, (9/12) @ 6:37 p.m. ET: Seth Lugo (2-2, 2.05 ERA) vs. TBD

Sunday, (9/13) @ 3:07 p.m. ET: TBD vs. TBD

Friday’s game comes on the 19th anniversary of the tragic World Trade Center attacks. For the first time in over a decade, the Mets are allowed to wear first responder hats during the game. This is a movement led by Pete Alonso, who led the team to wear commemorative cleats on 9/11 during the 2019 season.

Ride deGrom Out

It is no secret to how poor the Mets starting pitching has been this season. The main reason they do not sit dead last in the National League in rotation ERA is due to Jacob deGrom’s greatness. His 1.69 ERA is first in the NL and second in all of baseball. Manager Luis Rojas lined up his rotation to squeeze out as many starts as possible for deGrom, and the Mets will need those in order to make the playoffs.

Seth Lugo has not started as many games as deGrom but is another anchor to the Mets rotation. The Mets lined him up to pitch after each of deGrom’s start to get the momentum going. It is much better than having deGrom throw a gem then watch a mediocre starter allowed five runs the following night.

As for the Blue Jays, their lineup packs a mighty punch. They are second in the American League in home runs, fourth in RBIs, and fourth in hits. They are led by Teoscar Hernandez, who is slashing .308/.358/.637, with 14 home runs and 27 runs batted in. Hernandez’s slugging percentage is third in the AL behind Nelson Cruz and Mike Trout. Luckily for the Mets, Hernandez is currently on the injured list.

Key Statistics

Joe Panik vs. Jacob deGrom: 3-for-19 (.158), Double, 3 Walks, 5 Strikeouts

Michael Conforto vs. Chase Anderson: 2-for-11 (.182), 2 Home Runs, 2 Walks, 3 Strikeouts

First Pitch Swings Against deGrom in 2020: 5-for-59 (.085), Double, Home Run, 23 Strikeouts

Seth Lugo As a Starter in 2020: 1-0, 1.54 ERA, 11.2 IP, 20 Strikeouts, 4 Walks

New York Mets’ Jacob deGrom has a great chance of winning his third straight Cy, but has one big threat

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New York Mets, Jacob deGrom

The 2020 MLB season may have been, at least so far, a total disappointment for the New York Mets as a whole, considering the roster and the expectations. However, for ace Jacob deGrom, it has been nothing different than what he has done in the last few years: dominating.

DeGrom, who has given the Mets two consecutive Cy Young Awards in the National League, has filled every box and every stat to be called an early favorite for the award. However, One other pitcher has been every bit as dominant as him in the old circuit: Yu Darvish of the Chicago Cubs.

The two veteran right-handers have clearly been in a tier of their own. The Mets’ strikeout artist has a 1.69 ERA and a 2.00 FIP in eight starts and 48.0 innings, producing a 2.0 fWAR as of Tuesday afternoon. His 13.13 K/9 are off the charts, and in line with his recent, dominating past.

The Mets’ ace has one big threat

However, Darvish has been just as good and represents a clear threat to deGrom’s three-peat intentions. The Japanese has a 1.44 ERA (2.01 FIP) in eight starts and 50.0 frames, with a 2.1 fWAR (leading the National League) and 11.34 K/9.

The two pitchers and Max Fried (1.98) are the only qualifiers in the National League with an ERA under 2.00. Fried is another dark-horse candidate for the award, but he is a distant third (1.8 fWAR) and just hit the injured list with a back issue, effectively ending his pursuit of the hardware.

It will be, it seems, a race of two horses for the award that recognizes pitching excellence. For his part, the New York Mets’ ace keeps doing his job. In his last start, he manhandled the Philadelphia Phillies and generated an eye-popping 35 swinging strikes, a modern record that he shares with Danny Duffy and Clayton Kershaw.

“That’s a personal goal of mine,” deGrom said to MLB.com about the possibility of winning the Cy Young a third consecutive time. “Winning two in a row honestly doesn’t even really feel like it’s set in yet.”

To achieve his goal, the Mets’ righty needs not to have a mediocre start, and he could use a Darvish clunker. Still, his chances are looking excellent.

New York Mets: deGrom Holds Phils, Offense Does The Rest in 14-1 Win

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New York Mets, Jacob deGrom

The New York Mets had their best all-around win of the season as they ride seven strong innings from Jacob deGrom to a 7-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Sunday’s matchup set up as a pitchers duel between deGrom and Aaron Nola, but deGrom showed why he is the best pitcher in the game.

deGrom held the Phillies to one run over seven innings with 12 strikeouts. Out of his 108 pitches, 35 of them were swing and misses. deGrom pitched with two different game plans, using his fastball predominantly in the first three innings then shifting to his slider. The lone Phillies run came on an Andrew Knapp home run in the second inning.

Aaron Nola did not have anywhere near the success he had during his last outing against the Mets. His defense hurt him at times, but he allowed six runs (three earned) in 5.1 innings pitched. Nola surprisingly struck out 10, despite allowing two home runs. He also allowed seven hits to left-handed batters after allowing only six hits to them all season.

Scattered Scoring

The Mets offense showed how potent they could be in their 14 run, 17 hit, 12 extra-base hit, and four home run effort. Seven different Mets recorded hits, and out of those, four of them had multiple-hit games. They scored in six out of eight innings, capping it off with a seven-run eighth inning.

Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto were anchors at the top of the order. They had three hits each, including a home run for Nimmo and two doubles for Conforto. Dominic Smith had four hits, including three doubles and three RBIs. Pete Alonso homered twice for two of his three hits, all of them hit at high velocities.

It was the laugher of a game the Mets have searched for, and their offense also went 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position. After a tough streak of losses, the Mets now have wins in four out of five games and are just three games under the .500 mark.

David Peterson hopes to get the Mets their third win and final win of the series. He faces former Met Zack Wheeler, who is making his first start as a visitor at Citi Field. The first pitch is another 1:10 p.m. start.

New York Mets Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (9/4-9/7)

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New York Mets, Rick Porcello

After two straight victories, the New York Mets welcome in the red hot Philadelphia Phillies for a four-game weekend series. It is the biggest series of the season for the Mets, and it is against a team that swept them in their prior matchup in the abbreviated 2020 season.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday, (9/4) @ 7:10 p.m. ET: Jake Arrieta (2-4, 6.49 ERA) vs. Rick Porcello (1-4, 6.00 ERA)

Saturday, (9/5) @ 7:10 p.m. ET: Spencer Howard (1-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. Seth Lugo (1-2, 2.12 ERA)

Sunday, (9/6) @ 1:10 p.m. ET: Aaron Nola (4-2, 2.45 ERA) vs. Jacob deGrom (2-1, 1.76 ERA)

Monday, (9/7) @ 1:10 p.m. ET: Zack Wheeler (4-0, 2.20 ERA) vs. TBD

The Mets come into the series just 1.5 games out of a wild card spot. With the constant failures throughout the pitching staff, they have to feel lucky to have an opportunity to make the postseason. The Phillies have won nine of their last ten, which allowed them to surge up into one of the spots the Mets are trying to chase.

Need Innings?

The only way the Mets can maintain success is with a rested bullpen due to their starters going deep into games. Rick Porcello has thrown the second-highest amount of innings, but they have not resulted in success. He has a 6.00 ERA and needs to set the tone with a good start to open the series.

Seth Lugo hopes to get into the fifth inning for the first time this season. He is almost stretched out fully as a starter and has not skipped a beat since returning to the rotation. One more strong start from Lugo, and we could see his ERA drop below two.

Sunday afternoon’s matchup features two premiere aces. Jacob deGrom against Aaron Nola sets up to be a low scoring contest. Both pitchers have previous strong outings against their opponents throughout their careers. Let us not forget that deGrom also pitches his best during day games.

Zack Wheeler also closes out the series, making his first start as an opponent at Citi Field. He won 19 games and had a 4.15 ERA over 60 career starts at Citi Field.

After homering in two consecutive games, Pete Alonso looks to start a hot streak that carries through the rest of the season. Out of all the bats in the Mets lineup, he holds the most weight when he is hitting consistently.

Matchups to Lookout For

Jake Arrieta vs. Robinson Cano: 6-for-31 (.194), 2 Doubles, 4 Walks, 7 Strikeouts

Jake Arrieta vs. Jeff McNeil: 13-for-20 (.650), Double, Home Run

Rick Porcello vs. Didi Gregorious: 7-for-40 (.175), 2 Doubles, 2 Home Runs, 3 Walks, 7 Strikeouts

Jacob deGrom vs. J.T. Realmuto: 4-for-25 (.160), Double, 9 Strikeouts

Aaron Nola vs. Michael Conforto: 5-for-32 (.156), Double, Home Run, 4 Walks, 12 Strikeouts

New York Mets: deGrom’s Four Run Sixth Gives Marlins 5-3 Victory

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New York Mets, Pete Alonso

The miserable New York Mets continue to struggle as Jacob deGrom cannot save them from a four-game losing streak. After cruising through five innings, it was a completely different deGrom in the sixth inning. The pesky Miami Marlins put across four runs and held off the Mets offense to win 5-3.

Things went bad for deGrom from the start of the inning. He lost the feel for his slider, and Garrett Cooper teed off on one for a 451-foot home run, cutting the Mets lead down to one. Pete Alonso’s error on a Matt Joyce ground ball opened up the lanes for the Marlins to steal bases. They stole four on the day, three off deGrom.

Joyce’s steal of second on a Brian Anderson strikeout allowed Lewin Diaz to record an RBI double, tying the game at two. Miguel Rojas gave the Marlins the lead with a bloop single, then Jorge Alfaro doubled to close the book on the four-run sixth.

Rogers Bent But Did Not Break

Trevor Rogers did not pitch as well as his first start against the Mets but showed his ability to battle once again. He held the Mets to two runs over five innings and used his fastball/changeup combination to keep the Mets off balance.

Jeff McNeil doubled, and Dominic Smith hit a sacrifice fly to give the Mets their only two runs off of Rogers. The team struggled again with runners in scoring position, only going 2-for-10. They squandered leadoff doubles in the fourth and fifth, which came back to bite them. Both were opportunities to create separation. It would have allowed deGrom to pitch more aggressively and rest the key arms in the Mets bullpen.

The loss showed the cluelessness of manager Luis Rojas. In no fashion does Pete Alonso deserve to hit in the two-hole, and Wilson Ramos does not deserve to hit fourth. Lefty or righty, both are two of the worst hitters on the roster at this time. He also continues to DH Robinson Cano instead of putting him at second, McNeil in left field, Smith at first, and Alonso as the DH. Smith looks like Keith Hernandez at first base when compared to Alonso.

Despite all the negativity from the last few days, they still have a chance to make the playoffs with a short winning streak. They will try to start one against the Baltimore Orioles. Game one is at 7:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and per usual, the Mets have no idea who is pitching.

The Mets’ bullpen strikes again as Jacob deGrom gets yet another no-decision

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New York Mets, Jacob deGrom

Another game, another Jacob deGrom start with a no-decision for the hurler, even though the New York Mets‘ best pitcher only allowed an earned run and struck out 14 batters. It happened on Wednesday night against the Miami Marlins, and the bullpen blew another lead only to be rescued by the offense a few moments later.

The Mets were up 4-1 after seven innings, but deGrom left, and Justin Wilson and Edwin Diaz surrendered the lead. They ended up winning 5-4, thanks to Wilson Ramos’ RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, and Brad Brach, who was able to get the last four outs of the ballgame.

“We trust our guys,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “We know their ability to get outs, to get strikeouts, throw in stress situations, tension situations. It’s something they’ve done in the past and they’re going to be able to do.”

Diaz had to go out with left leg cramps, but it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be out for long. “He wanted to keep going,” Rojas said. “He wanted to stay in there. … Thank God it’s not a major issue. It’s nothing of major concern right now.”

The Mets’ ace bad luck with wins continues

It is not a secret that Jacob deGrom is among the unluckiest pitchers when it comes to wins. By now, we know that the Win stat isn’t particularly useful to determine a pitcher’s level or even future performance, but it is frustrating that the New York Mets’ ace has endured 14 outings in the last three seasons in which he has pitched a minimum of seven innings with one or zero runs allowed, and not won the game.

No major league pitcher has more than seven such games over that span, according to DiComo.

To make matters worse, Seth Lugo, who is probably the Mets’ best reliever at this point, is starting games because the rotation is severely depleted.

“We definitely liked him in the bullpen to be the multi-inning guy, to close games when we needed him to,” Rojas said of Lugo. “But right now, that’s just not the case. He’s in our rotation, and we like our guys. And we feel that we have so much depth, and we have guys that can definitely help us close games.”

The Mets have until August 31 to make a splash prior to the trade deadline. Will they get a reliever? Should they go after a top starter and return Lugo to the bullpen?