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The Mets’ starting rotation is about to get a big boost with the return of Jacob deGrom this Sunday. He’ll take the mound against the Minnesota Twins for the first time since exiting his September 1 start against Miami with arm soreness.
Before going down, deGrom had been one of the Mets’ most consistent starters. Though not pitching at quite his 2015 levels, deGrom carried a 3.04 ERA in 148 innings of work with 143 strikeouts and just 36 walks.
MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports that deGrom will be held to just 75 pitches in his start on Sunday. Even the pitch-limited return of deGrom is no doubt a boon to the Mets, though. In recent weeks they’ve trotted out the likes of Rafael Montero to sometimes disastrous results.
On Sunday deGrom will likely be facing off against the Twins’ Kyle Gibson, who just had one of his best starts of the year against the Tigers, holding them to one run over eight innings. The Mets will have to hope that Gibson’s start against the Tigers was an aberration and that Gibson will return to the form that produced a 5.08 ERA and 1.54 WHIP this year.
Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman have stepped in to take up some of the slack while deGrom and Steven Matz have been out, but the Mets will no doubt be looking for a healthy deGrom to make a major contribution as the team pushes for the playoffs. The Mets currently hold a one-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot.