Battle of aces as deGrom faces off vs. Fernandez
MIAMI — When the Mets have needed a win during the past two seasons, a stopper almost always was scheduled to take the mound. With so many talented arms in the rotation, Terry Collins regularly sent out a starting pitcher capable of inspiring the confidence of an ace.
Lately, such certainty is tougher to find.
Matt Harvey is done for the season, following surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. Bartolo Colon finally looks like a 43-year-old, having allowed at least six runs in two of his past three outings, while twice failing to get out of the fifth inning. Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are both battling bone spurs, while struggling to reach the incredibly high bars they set early in the season.
Still, with Marlins ace Jose Fernandez set to face the Mets on Saturday night, Collins will have the ideal arm on the mound.
“If you’re gonna have a guy on our staff match up with [Fernandez] right now, it’d be Jacob deGrom,” Collins said before Friday night’s game at Marlins Park. “His last few starts he’s pitched as good as anybody. If you’re a baseball fan, if you love the game, [this] is the game you want to come and see.”
Since Fernandez won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2013 and deGrom captured it one year later, the young righthanders have further established their place among the game’s best.
In Miami, Collins acknowledged, Fernandez (11-4) is “almost unbeatable,” having amassed a career 25-1 record, while sporting a 1.43 ERA and 0.895 WHIP. This season, Fernandez is seventh in the National League in ERA (2.53), second in strikeouts (168) and sixth in WHIP (1.01).
DeGrom (6-4) is 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA in his past four starts and is coming off his best start of the season. In the best regular-season start of his career, deGrom threw a one-hit shutout against the Phillies for his first complete game, moving up to fourth in the NL in ERA (2.38) and eighth in WHIP (1.03).
“Two of the best in the game going against each other in a big series for both teams, it may feel a little different,” outfielder Michael Conforto said. “Pitches to hit are going to be at a premium. … [Fernandez] has great stuff. He can throw it hard and he can really be deceptive. He’s got an attitude. He’s really competitive and you can see the swagger he’s got, and you got to match it, but we always feel like we can win when Jacob is on the mound.”
But can they win when Fernandez is on the mound?
In six career starts against the Mets, the 23year-old is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA. In two meetings this season, Fernandez is 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 12 innings against the Mets, having put on a masterful 14strikeout performance in seven shutout innings during the most recent matchup on June 5.
“It kind of seems like he likes to ramp it up when he pitches against us,” second baseman Neil Walker said. “He’s tough to score runs on. We have to take advantage of every opportunity we get.” The Mets aren’t alone. “It seems as though ev-ery single outing [de-Grom’s] getting better,” Walker said. “He’s locating his fastball better. He’ss putting guys away better. Watching how he’s attacking is really impressive. He’s just got a really good feel. You can feel the confidence in him.”