DeGrom hoping to take it to Max
CINCINNATI — Jacob deGrom does not know when he will pitch again, and the Mets righthander could not be more excited about that. DeGrom comes into the second half of the season knowing only that he will not be on the mound this weekend in St. Louis and his first start of the second half will be against the division rival Nationals, something he hopes begins the push to an exciting September.
“I am excited about that, they are in our division, they are in first place right now and I am excited to face them coming off the break,” deGrom said.
The Mets (47-42) are starting the second half of the season on the road, where they are 15-28. They face the NL Central-leading Cardinals and NL East-leading Nationals right out of the gate. The Mets are 8-15 against Central Division teams this season and 3-4 against the Nationals so far.
If they are going to back up their offseason talk with a playoff push in the second half, the Mets need to turn around that road record and their record against the Nationals, a team they finished 4-15 against in 2014.
The Mets, who have 12 games against the Nationals remaining, have managed to stay within two games of Washington despite injuries that have ravaged their offense.
And at least some Nationals have taken notice that the Mets are stalking.
“They have a great staff,” Nationals ace Max Scherzer said. “It’s something where we are going to have to absolutely bring it for the rest of the season if we want to accomplish our goals.
“I absolutely respect what they are doing,” Scherzer added. “I know how talented we are, I believe in our guys and I believe we can get it done, but I also know how good of baseball we are going to have to play down the stretch, because that is how much respect I have for the Mets.”
Scherzer cited two names when talking about Mets this week: deGrom and Matt Harvey.
“You see why they put the numbers they put up,” Scherzer said.
“Their pitches are really sharp, they throw really hard and they do a lot of things right.”
Like deGrom, Harvey lines up to face the Nationals next week.
DeGrom heads into the second half having backed up his 2014 NL Rookie of the Year award by going 9-6 with a 2.14 ERA. After a brilliant All-Star Game performance Tuesday night , when he struck out the side on 10 pitches, deGrom comes into the second half having to remind himself to just continue doing what he’s done so far, and not try to do too much more.
“I think just to try to pick up where I left off,” deGrom said. “I won’t try to do too much. Just stay with the approach that I have had. I always say try to get strike one and go from there.”
And after a nine-game stretch during which the Mets’ bats seemed to come to life — after they spent the first half of the season at the bottom of the league in offense — deGrom is hopeful that this team is starting to live up to its promise.
“That was our thought going into the season,” deGrom said of challenging the Nationals. “It doesn’t help that David (Wright) and Travis (d’Arnaud) went down, but guys have stepped up and have done a good job and hopefully we get them back in the second half. Then we will really be looking forward to it.”
Looking from the outside, Scherzer sees the possibilities as well.
The Nationals signed Scherzer for his dominance and playoff experience to try to help them finally get to the World Series. The eight-year veteran who has pitched in one World Series said that experience can be overrated in a pennant race.
Scherzer puts more stock in talent than in playoff experience and thinks September could be interesting in the NL East.
“It comes down to talent. Talent wins baseball games,” Scherzer said. “Experience is good to have in the clubhouse to help you understand how to use your talent. But I’d rather have talent.
“Whoever pitches the best in September is going to win.”