Mets ace deGrom whiffs 5 of 6 batters in 1st rehab start
NEW YORK – Back in a game at last, Jacob deGrom was sharp.
The New York Mets ace struck out five of the six batters he faced and threw 18 of 24 pitches for strikes Sunday night in his first minor league rehabilitation start for Class A St. Lucie.
The only hiccup for deGrom against the Jupiter Hammerheads in Port St. Lucie, Florida, came when he hit a batter with a pitch.
As deGrom warmed up in the bullpen before the game, more than a dozen of the young St. Lucie players gathered behind him to watch his regimen.
It was the first competitive outing since spring training for deGrom, sidelined all season because of a stress reaction in his right scapula that caused inflammation. The two-time Cy Young Award winner also missed the second half of last season with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow – he hasn’t pitched in the majors since July 7, 2021.
As he builds up arm strength and stamina, the 34-year-old right-hander will need several minor league rehab outings before he’s ready to rejoin New York’s rotation.
General manager Billy Eppler likened the process to a typical spring training progression, and manager Buck Showalter said deGrom won’t return until he’s stretched out enough that he could pitch five innings or more.
So the likelihood is deGrom won’t be back in the big leagues until at least late July, after the All-Star break.
Dodgers activate Betts off IL
LOS ANGELES – Mookie Betts was back in his familiar leadoff and right field spot for the Dodgers, activated off the injured list before Sunday’s game against the Padres.
He was 2-3 with two walks and scored twice in the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss.
Betts was injured during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels on June 15 when he collided with Cody Bellinger in the outfield on a fly ball. Betts played the rest of that game but was scratched from the lineup the next two games. An MRI revealed the cracked rib.
It was his third stint on the IL the past two seasons.