DeGrom pitches . . . guess what

MARLINS 5 METS 3

After two straight days of rain stalled his start, Jacob deGrom finally took the mound Tuesday. But it was never going to matter, really, the day or the weather forecast or even the opponent. The Mets did what they always do, which was send their ace and Cy Young candidate to the showers without a victory.

DeGrom gave up two runs against the lowly Marlins in a 5-3 loss, which during this otherworldly 2018 season almost feels like a bad outing, despite the fact that the Mets ace set an MLB single-season record for allowing three runs or fewer in 26 straight starts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

But the Mets notched just five hits (one of them again coming off the bat of deGrom, who is 5-for-his-last-8), and home runs by Michael Conforto and Kevin Plawecki accounted for all the scoring. DeGrom’s record fell below .500 again (8-9), the only blemish – which really can’t be blamed on him – on his otherwise sparkling resume for Cy Young consideration, which now sports a 1.71 ERA through 29 starts.

Through three innings, deGrom had not allowed a hit and already had fanned six, but he ran into trouble with two outs in the fourth. Consecutive softly hit singles put runners on first and second before rookie Lewis Brinson hit a double over the head of Austin Jackson to the base of the center-field wall. Both runs scored to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead before deGrom promptly struck out Miguel Rojas to end the inning. He finished the night with nine strikeouts, exiting after seven innings.

The Mets pinch hit for him in the bottom of the seventh with a man on and failed to score.

Though Todd Frazier wasn’t doing much to help the team offensively anyway, the third baseman was ejected before the seventh inning. His issues with umpires continued, though this time Frazier was the one who felt hoodwinked. After taking issue with a called strike that appeared off the plate in the sixth inning, Frazier had words for the home plate umpire, but it ended there for the time being. In between innings, Frazier continued to argue while he was taking the field and the Mets third baseman was tossed.

Last week, Frazier had fooled the umpiring crew when he faked a catch in foul ground by picking up a stray ball in his glove. He has also spoken out this season about issues with umpires, saying this has been the worst year for him when it comes to blown calls and that something needs to be done.

Considering deGrom is easily the most exciting thing about the Mets this season, it’s worth already looking ahead to his next start, which will likely come on Sunday at Fenway Park against the best team in baseball. He’s also potentially lined up to go against Chris Sale, who is returning from the DL and pitched an inning Tuesday night.

If the Mets aren’t going to help bolster deGrom’s Cy Young case by giving him wins, the ace can do it himself with a dominant start over that lineup.