DeGrom back to speed at training camp
Moments after Jacob deGrom blew a first-inning fastball by Josh Reddick for a strikeout, he circled the mound and caught a glimpse of the radar reading on the scoreboard: 97 mph.
“Definitely a good feeling,” deGrom said.
Making his first start since September’s surgery to reposition the ulnar nerve in his right elbow, deGrom worked two perfect innings for the New York Mets Saturday, striking out two in a 3-1 win against Houston.
More importantly, everything flowed smoothly.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” he said. “You say you are feeling good in the spring, but then to actually get out there in the game to throw, it definitely feels good to get back on the mound.”
Seeing that 97 flash on the video board prompted manager Terry Collins to tell pitching coach Dan Warthen they were watching a special spring outing. “I really think it’s important that he go out there and know that his arm is back,” Collins said.
“I think when they go back out there they see their velocity’s back. I think it’s a tremendous confidence builder for them.”
Cardinals
Veteran pitcher Adam Wainwright had seen St. Louis prospect Ryan Sherriff — unable to afford to ship his car from California to Florida — walking to and from camp in Jupiter, Fla. Paying forward kindnesses veterans had shown him when he was breaking in, Wainwright made arrangements to provide a rental car for Sherriff and then picked up the tab. “I started crying because it’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” Sherriff said. Said Wainwright: “That’s the kind of thing that happened to me when I was younger,” Wainwright said. “I remember I wore a couple of tired collared shirts in a row to the field and Mark Mulder bought me a whole box of collared shirts.”
Red Sox
Boston ace David Price says it’s still too early to tell when his ailing left elbow and forearm will heal enough for him to pitch in a game. Price was told this week that he won’t need surgery or an injection. The team said he will be shut down for seven to 10 days, take anti-inflammatory medicine and be re-evaluated after that. “I’m not going to put a timetable on it,” Price said Saturday. “If it doesn’t get better in a certain time period, it’s something we’re going to have to talk about again. I don’t think it will get to that point. We have a longer spring training this year [because of the World Baseball Classic]. It kind of works in our favor. I’m very confident I’ll be back out there.”
Giants
Even though he just got to spring training, pitcher Johnny Cueto says he’s probably ahead of where he normally is in preparing for the season. “It wasn’t like I was in the Dominican just sitting down. I was working really hard because I knew I was missing time. Maybe a little stronger than normal,” Cueto said in his first full day at camp. The 31-year-old All-Star was given permission by the team to arrive later because he was helping his ailing father, Domingo, who was in the hospital for 10 days earlier this year after suffering what Cueto described Saturday as “prestroke” symptoms. “He had some problems with his kidneys, something wrong with his head. He is better now,” Cueto said.