MICHAEL TO THE RESCUE
Jake sharp, but Mets need Conforto homer to top Miami
No one knows what tomorrow holds, and that could not be more true for a Mets team that lives and dies with the state of its rotation.
So when Jacob deGrom returned from a brief bout of neck tightness, which caused him to miss a start, the Mets were faced with added pressure to win when their best pitcher was on the mound. In a normal season, no starter gives the Amazin's a better chance to win than deGrom. But this year, with the Mets' 2-through-5 starters routinely unreliable, every deGrom outing carries more weight.
DeGrom did his part, and the Mets hitters came in clutch. He struck out seven, retired 18 of the 23 batters faced over six strong innings and lowered his season ERA to 1.93 in a 5-3 victory over the Marlins on Wednesday in Miami.
The Mets improved to a 12-14 record following their first three-game winning streak of the year. They go for a four-game sweep of the Fish tonight.
Michael Conforto became Wednesday night's warrior when he broke a tie with a two-run home run to center field in the ninth. It was his first long ball since Aug. 8 against the Marlins at Citi Field. Conforto is batting .312 with a .928 OPS.
“That one definitely felt good, especially since I hadn't been hitting it out of the yard lately,” Conforto said. “It was good to get one over the wall and win this series right now with this game. I'm just excited about going out there (tonight) for the sweep.”
Nearly halfway through the season, deGrom is again in the conversation for his third Cy Young. That he missed only one outing due to neck tightness could become the difference come Sept. 27 — the final day of the regular season.
“Not pitching in 10 days, I was a little rusty,” deGrom said. “Got tired quicker than I would've liked. But we were fortunate enough to get the win.”
Dominic Smith — who leads the Mets in RBI (21), doubles (10), home runs (six) and slugging percentage (.764) — knocked in the insurance run with an RBI double to center in the eighth.
A scrappy bottom of the eighth erased deGrom's third straight win and instead handed him the no-decision when Dellin Betances and Edwin Diaz were used instead of Seth Lugo for the final six outs of the night. Betances gave up a run and loaded the bases for Diaz, who walked in a run.
Diaz, though, returned to vintage form in the ninth and struck out the side against the top of the Marlins' order to seal his first save since July 24. Manager Luis Rojas revealed after the game that Lugo will move to the starting rotation beginning tonight, hence his unavailability on Wednesday.