WINNER JAKE ALL
deGrom claims first victory since June as Mets blank Beds in laugher
Give that man a “W.” After a six-week drought consisting of seven starts, Jacob deGrom, the major league leader in ERA, finally got to experience the symbol of mission accomplished for a starting pitcher: He won a game.
The Mets ace was brilliant over six shutout innings Wednesday, and his unreliable lineup provided plenty of support in an 8-0 victory over the Reds at Citi Field.
DeGrom (6-7) had last won on June 18 at Colorado. In his seven ensuing starts he was 0-5 with a 2.38 ERA, a drought that included three straight appearances in which the Mets scored two runs or fewer. The right-hander saw his ERA drop from 1.85 to 1.77, in a performance that included 10 strikeouts.
DeGrom’s closest competition in the NL Cy Young award race, Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola, have 15 and 12 wins, respectively. But deGrom’s ERA is about a half-run lower than either pitcher’s.
“Honestly, I haven’t looked,” deGrom said, when asked about his Cy Young competition. “I just control what I can control.”
R.A. Dickey was the last Mets pitcher to win the award. But whereas Dickey’s 20 wins in 2012 were a focal point of his Cy Young campaign, deGrom will have to count on ERA, innings pitched and strikeouts to highlight his résumé.
Felix Hernandez went 13-12 in winning the AL Cy Young award in 2010. The victory total was the lowest for a starting pitcher in a non-strike season in the award’s history.
“One thing that stands out this year for deGrom is deGrom has been so much better than everyone else at preventing runs,” manager Mickey Callaway said before the game. “Way better — we are talking about half of a run between him and the next guy, so that is something that is very telling to me.
“The wins aren’t there, obviously, and the losses aren’t egregious. For him to prevent runs like he is doing at this rate, it’s almost historic. We are talking ERA under two — that is very tough to do and rarely happens. And he is going to get to that 200-plus [innings] plateau.”
DeGrom elevated his pitchcount early, leading to his removal after six innings and 100 pitches. It marked the first time since June 30 that deGrom pitched fewer than seven innings.
“The offense stepping up today and us not having to push Jacob again was beneficial and can only help him moving forward,” Callaway said. “He wasn’t quite feeling himself — his body was a little stiff today — nothing alarming, but just didn’t feel great.”
DeGrom relied mainly on his changeup to augment his 97-mph heat. The double-digit strikeout game was his sixth of the season.
“[The changeup] felt good last time, I had a good feel for it and today I threw quite a bit of them,” deGrom said. “Not as many sliders, a lot of changeups and was able to keep it down in the zone for the most part.”
Brandon Nimmo went 3-for-5 with three doubles and three RBIs, leading the Mets’ offensive attack against Robert Stephenson and the Reds bullpen. Austin Jackson also drove in three runs with a 3-for-5 performance.
DeGrom drew a fourpitch walk with the bases loaded in the fourth inning — after Devin Mesoraco had been intentionally walked — to account for a run.
Seth Lugo, Jerry Blevins and Robert Gsellman combined for three scoreless innings in relief to preserve deGrom’s win.
“I just try to go up there and put up zeroes, whether we score eight runs or no runs,” deGrom said. “We want to win as a team, so every win is a positive.”