DeGrom delivers as Mets snap losing skid
It took a blistering effort from Jacob deGrom to snap the New York Mets out of their funk.
A little palm ball from Jose Reyes, too.
DeGrom dominated until ripping a callus on his pitching hand in the seventh, then Reyes helped him escape a no-out, basesloaded jam that inning to send the Mets over the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 on Friday night and snap a sevengame losing streak.
DeGrom (3-1) ended a 17game stretch in which no Mets starters got an out in the seventh inning, tying a club record set in 2002.
It was a tough hump to get over.
DeGrom was visited by manager Terry Collins and a team trainer at the start of the seventh inning after fidgeting with his throwing hand. The righty pointed to his ring finger during the brief visit, but stayed in the game.
With the Mets leading 2-0, deGrom walked C.J. Cron, was visited by pitching coach Dan Warthen to talk mechanics and then hit Martin Maldonado with a 3-1 pitch to load the bases before striking out Danny Espinosa with a 96 mph fastball for the first out.
Pinch hitter Ben Revere then blooped a ball to shallow center that Reyes bobbled and caught. Andrelton Simmons broke from third base when the ball hit the shortstop in the palm of his glove, and had to hurry back when it popped into the air.
“When the ball hit the glove, I said, ‘Oh man,”’ Reyes said.
Reyes corralled the rebound, then turned to keep the runners stuck at their bases.
“That ball drops in in the last seven days, for sure,” Collins said.
Cameron Maybin then flied out to right to end the inning.
DeGrom retired 13 straight before Kole Calhoun’s two-out single in the sixth. He gave up four hits, struck out nine and walked three in seven innings. It was a timely start for the Mets, who entered Friday ranked last in the majors with a 5.13 ERA and with Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo on the disabled list.
“We’ve got to get our pitching moving forward,” Collins said. “We didn’t break camp with imagination. These guys are legit, and we’ve got to get them right so as we head into the big months of summer, that we know what we got and those guys are pitching like they can.”
Jerry Blevins got two outs in his major leagueleading 25th appearance, Paul Sewald recorded an out in the eighth and Addison Reed pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
The Angels had averaged 6.3 runs over their previous six games, including wins in their last four.
“All night, we didn’t get too many good looks at him,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said about deGrom. “He pitched a good game for those guys, but when we did get a couple of looks, he made some pitches and got out of it.”
Ricky Nolasco (2-3) allowed two runs, one earned, over six innings.
Michael Conforto led off the seventh with a homer to left, his second in two games, team-high 11th this season and sixth to the opposite field.
Reyes’ juggle was the second unusual bounce for the Mets as they opened a seven-game homestand. In the first inning, Curtis Granderson lined an RBI double down the left field line that caromed off the ball boy’s stool, kicked behind the rolled up tarp then ended up under a towel that had been resting on the stool, all before umpire Ben May called time.
Left fielder Maybin threw his hands up before grabbing the ball and firing to the infield, catching Granderson between bases. Granderson was frozen on the basepath before realizing time was called.