Mets cautious with sharp Jacob deGrom in victory over Rockies
Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom throws to first base against the Rockies during the sixth inning of an MLB game at Citi Field on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The safeguards still are up for Jacob deGrom.
As the Mets cruised to a 3-1 win over the Rockies on Thursday, deGrom did his part, allowing a lone run over six innings, racking up nine strikeouts and issuing just one walk.
But manager Buck Showalter pulled him after just 87 pitches — fewer than his previous start (95), the first time since his return this month from a year of injuries that he has taken a step backward in that category.
DeGrom feasibly could have returned for the seventh inning, at least for a batter or two, before matching his total from last time, but he emphasized that he prefers “going out and having a chance to try to complete the inning.”
Including 2021, before physical issues ended his year at the halfway point, deGrom has thrown at least 100 pitches only once in the past two seasons. But he said he hopes to hit that mark again in his next start, scheduled to be against the Dodgers next week.
“I didn’t want him to go out there and throw five or six pitches or seven or whatever,” Showalter said, echoing the ace but declining to specify about how he made the decision to lift deGrom. “It’s not going to be some pure inning count or pitch count all the time. We get a lot of feedback from different areas that kind of give us an idea of where we are. The whole idea is to keep all our pitchers around and healthy, not just Jake.”
DeGrom indeed felt good physically after this start, his fifth, according to Showalter. And his effectiveness was not in question. He didn’t allow a baserunner until the fifth inning, when Jose Iglesias picked up a one-out single on a ground ball to shortstop Francisco Lindor. Lindor made a diving stop and got off an off-balance throw to first, but Iglesias beat it easily.
Ryan McMahon homered in the sixth inning to get Colorado (54-72) on the board.
“[DeGrom] was the difference in the game for us,” Showalter said.
Pete Alonso added: “Jake was great. Shocker.”
So was Alonso. He provided the big blow during the Mets’ three-run rally in the third, a two-run home run off the face of the second deck in leftfield. That upped his season totals to 31 homers and 104 RBIs and gave him four consecutive hits — all rockets — after breaking his bat over his knee Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
“That’s what you do with a 3-and-0 pitch when you get a green light like that,” Showalter said.
The Mets (80-46) managed only those runs against the Rockies’ Ryan Feltner, a rookie righthander, in 4 2⁄3 innings, failing to turn lots of hard contact into a more comfortable lead. Feltner worked around six hits and two walks, striking out one. His ERA is 5.87.
This series marks the beginning of a significant easing up in the Mets’ schedule. After going through a bit of a gauntlet — 27 games in 26 days, capped by a road trip to play three playoff contenders — they have a much simpler path the rest of the way.
Including Thursday, they have the lowest average winning percentage of remaining opponents at .446, according to Tankathon.com, which tracks such metrics.
That is good news for the Mets, who lead the NL East by two games. Atlanta is 21st at .480 — still easy, just not as easy.
Just nine of the Mets’ final 37 games are against teams with winning records. Those will be three games each against the Dodgers (Aug. 30-Sept. 1), Brewers (Sept. 19-21) and Atlanta (Sept. 30-Oct. 2).
Showalter suggested that games like these sometimes come with more pressure because of the expectations that now surround the first-place Mets.
“They can be, especially if a group of people doesn’t have the mental fortitude,” Alonso said. “But I feel like our group is extremely mentally tough, and we didn’t fall in the trap, so to speak.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
