AFTERNOON deLIGHT!
Jacob dominates with 11 strikeouts
That was de-licious. After slogging through consecutive clunkers by Jon Niese and Bartolo Colon the previous two days, the Mets returned Thursday to the realm of receiving ace material from a young gun.
Jacob deGrom was brilliant for eight innings against the Cardinals, allowing one hit and retiring the last 23 batters he faced in a 5-0 victory that snapped the Mets’ two-game skid.
“You definitely get in a groove,” deGrom said. “You get a lot of people out in a row and you want to get the ball back and get back out there and go right after the next guy.”
DeGrom (5-4) struck out 11 and did not allow a base runner after Matt Carpenter singled in the first inning. The right-hander was removed after 104 pitches and handed a five-run lead to Jeurys Familia in the ninth.
Manager Terry Collins l ater divulged deGrom has been bothered recently by a sore hip and had shoulder fatigue after his previous start Saturday against the Brewers. But neither ailment appeared to come into play against the Cardinals. “That’s what
we saw most of last year was strike after strike, pound it down in the zone, changing eye level, good changeup, breaking ball is working, [an] outstanding outing,” Collins said.
The Mets placed deGrom on the disabled list last August with shoulder fatigue, but he returned to dominate over the final month.
“It was kind of similar to what happened last year, but I don’t think as severe,” deGrom said, when asked about his recent shoulder discomfort. “And we talked about it and I feel fine when I’m throwing.”
DeGrom said the hip discomfort has been present for his last few starts.
Lucas Duda provided the offensive thunder with two home runs, including a three-run blast in the eighth that provided the Mets a rare cushion
he victory allowed the Mets to finish 4-3 on the homestand and rinse the distaste of consecutive brutal losses to the Cardinals — 8-2 and 9-0 — from their palates.
Next stop for the Mets (24-18) is Pittsburgh, where they will open a three-game series Friday with stud rookie Noah Syndergaard on the mound.
DeGrom became the first Mets pitcher since Anthony Young on July 7, 1993 to retire 23 straight batters. In retrospect, Collins wasn’t
disappointed deGrom allowed the early hit to Carpenter, removing the potential dilemma of how to handle a no-hit situation in the late innings. The manager planned to limit deGrom to 110 pitches.
DeGrom said the single he allowed to Carpenter didn’t haunt him as the game progressed.
“I never thought of that,” deGrom said. “Maybe when I came in here I might have thought that, but not when I was out there.”
Duda crushed a solo homer in the sixth against Jaime Garcia, extending the Mets’ lead to 2-0. In the eighth, he homered against Randy Choate. The blasts were Duda’s fourth and fifth and gave him four straight against lefties.
John Mayberry Jr. delivered an RBI single in the fourth that gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. But with the bases loaded the rally went no further.as Eric Campbell hit into an inningending double play.
DeGrom finished with the fifth double-digit strikeout game of his career and first since last Sept. 21. It was a second straight strong start for deGrom, who held the Brewers to one run over six innings Saturday.
“I could tell in the bullpen this was going to be an easy one,” catcher Kevin Plawecki said. “I could tell in the bullpen he was locked in.”
The Mets certainly needed the performance following letdowns by Colon and Niese, each of whom allowed eight earned runs in losing to the Cardinals.
“That’s a great ballclub over there, a great lineup,” deGrom said. “And to have an outing like that against them
is a good feeling.”