For deGrom, it’s another groaner
Mets get 2-hit in loss to Braves
There are certain occurrences the Mets have come to expect this season and, unsurprisingly, they both came to pass Friday.
The first would be seeing a starting pitcher go on the disabled list, and Steven Matz did just that in the afternoon, a day after an MRI showed no structural damage in his elbow. The second would be Jacob deGrom receiving little to no run support, a foregone conclusion by now every time he takes the mound.
In yet another strong start, deGrom went eight innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out nine as the Mets fell to the Braves, 2-1. But if deGrom is feeling the frustration with his team’s inability to score runs, he is continuing to internalize it, saying all the right things about a stagnant offense.
“I don’t think Jacob says the right things to say the right things,” manager Mickey Callaway said after the game. “He believes it. He knows the guys are out there trying to score runs for him every night and it’s just not happening.”
Atlanta’s veteran starter Anibal Sanchez stifled the Mets’ offense, striking out nine over six innings and allowing just two hits, the only pair of base knocks for the club on the night.
The first six batters in the Mets’ lineup went hitless, with nine strikeouts just among them.
In fact, the only run they scored came off the bat of deGrom, who ripped an RBI single up the middle to plate Amed Rosario, who had doubled in the third inning. Earlier this season, deGrom had been put on the disabled list after hyperextending his elbow on a swing. The Mets were reluctant to let him take cuts once he returned, but at this point in the season, he has as good a chance as any at producing.
That was the only time the Mets had a runner in scoring position, as the Braves relievers combined for three scoreless innings to back Sanchez.
After a rare flash of leather these days from Jose Reyes in the third inning to rob Ozzie Albies of a hit, and then a strong throw from first baseman Jose Bautista to third to complete the unconventional 4-3-5 double play, the Mets bounded off the field with apparent momentum.
“Everyone came running off the field, we were pumped up, it felt the same as if you had hit a home run,” Callaway said.
DeGrom’s RBI single came in the bottom half of that inning, but the fleeting high wore off as the Mets didn’t record a hit for the rest of the game.
In the bottom of the ninth, Bautista and Michael Conforto made two quick outs before Frazier reached on an error to bring the winning run to the plate. But Austin Jackson grounded out weakly to first and deGrom took another loss.
The ace is now 5-7 with a 1.85 ERA.