The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
DeGrom, Conforto lead Mets to win
NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom matched a career high with 13 strikeouts, Michael Conforto went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and the New York Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 on Friday night.
Wilmer Flores drove in one run and scored another to help the Mets win a series opener between struggling teams. Both bolted to fast starts this season only to sputter lately.
After an abbreviated outing last weekend in his return from the disabled list, deGrom (4-0) threw seven dominant innings this time and has won his first four decisions in a season for the first time. His careerbest scoreless streak of 241⁄3innings was snapped when Jake Lamb, just back from a shoulder injury, hit an RBI double in the sixth.
Lamb, however, was thrown out stretching at third for the second out of the inning.
Slumping slugger Paul Goldschmidt fanned all four times up against deGrom, who gave up six hits and walked none. The righthander missed a turn with a hyperextended right elbow before returning Sunday in Philadelphia, only to be removed as a precaution after one inning because it took him 45 pitches to get through the first. Philadelphia fouled off 20 pitches and deGrom issued three walks but did not permit a run.
Robert Gsellman worked a perfect eighth and Jeurys
Familia struck out the side in the ninth for his 12th save.
It was the third time deGrom has whiffed 13 in a regular-season game. He also did it during the 2015 playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Arizona, which still leads the NL West, has dropped eight of nine.
Flores had an RBI groundout in the first and also doubled and scored on Conforto’s single in the fifth.