Jacob deGrom returns from injury to lead Mets to win over Rockies
Jacob deGrom was back to doing Jacob deGrom things: hitting 101 mph on the radar gun, punching out batters and boosting his batting average.
The Mets could not have asked for much more from deGrom in his return from the injured list. Making his first start in 16 days, deGrom struck out nine over five innings in the Mets’ 3-1 win over the Rockies on Tuesday night at Citi Field.
“That’s what we need to continue to do,” deGrom said of the Mets scraping out another victory with a last-resort lineup. “Take it one pitch at a time, one out a time and go from there and try to be in every game and give ourselves a chance to keep winning.”
DeGrom surrendered one run, on a Ryan McMahon homer in the second, and gave up three hits across his 63 pitches. Typically, unless deGrom pitches a shutout, an excellent outing is still not enough for a Mets offense that struggles to give him run support. But the narrative was different on Tuesday, thanks to the Amazin’s red-hot backstop who was recently promoted to starting catcher.
Give Tomas Nido more playing time and he can do special things at the plate. Nido crushed a tie-breaking two-run home run to left-center in the sixth, making it so that five of his last six RBI have given the Mets the lead. The Mets’ $40 million catcher, James McCann, played first base against the Rockies as Luis Rojas patched together a lineup that included both of his natural backstops.
“I put in a lot of work this offseason and the offseason before,” Nido said. “I’m prepared for whatever they throw at me, whether it’s playing every day, playing part time, whatever. I’m ready no matter what.
“I’m trying to have fun and enjoy every moment as it happens.”
Edwin Diaz maintained his perfect save record, collecting his eighth in eight opportunities. He has not allowed a run in any of his save chances this season.
DeGrom, with his right side/lower back tightness behind him, retired eight consecutive batters in his seventh start of the year before Rojas took him out after five innings. Before his outing, Rojas indicated deGrom would not have a pitch limit. But it was obvious, after deGrom came out on 63 pitches, that the Mets are still playing it safe and being extra cautious with their ace who missed three of his last four starts entering Tuesday.
“I’m pretty sure I did it on a swing in that Arizona game,” deGrom said, indicating he felt his right side tighten up on May 9 against the Diamondbacks. “I felt something and then when I went back out that next inning, I knew something wasn’t right.”
Still, if deGrom re-aggravated his injury while swinging the bat, it certainly didn’t hold him back on Tuesday when he returned to the plate with a triumphant 1-for-2 day.
The Mets (22-20) saw two exciting plays on the base-paths overturned due to replay. On the first play, Jonathan Villar tried stealing third base for the second time in the game and, though his hand reached the base before the tag, he was ruled out because in his forward momentum, his body briefly came off the bag. Meanwhile Brandon Drury, who was at the plate hitting right-handed, stepped back and oddly made room for Rockies catcher Dom Nunez to throw Villar out at third.
On the second play deGrom, being the freak athlete he is, dropped a two-out base hit into the shallowest part of the right field, just beyond the dirt, in his second at-bat. DeGrom rounded first and kept going, hustling in an attempt to leg out a double. Just like Villar, he reached the base before the tag, but a Rockies’ challenge revealed his foot came off the bag. DeGrom settled for his eighth single of the season, which raised his batting average to .471.
“I need to stay on the bag there,” deGrom said of the reviewed buzzkill that took his double away. “I wasn’t sure if I really came off, but I guess I did. I would’ve liked to be in scoring position.”
