Jacob deGrom falls below .500 in loss to Pirates

The Mets’ offense had been seemingly rolling along the past few games but that all came to a crashing halt with Jacob deGrom on the mound. They squandered every opportunity they had on their way to a 5-0 loss to give their ace a losing record for the season.

The team as a whole had six hits but a third of those hits came off the bat of deGrom who tried to do everything possible to win this game.

It was a typical deGrom start but not a dominant one in the early innings. The Pirates are among the best two-strike hitting teams in the league so a lot of balls were put in play. It nearly bit deGrom in the fourth when Jose Bautista misplayed a fly ball that went for a double to lead off the inning. Gregory Polanco moved to third but was thrown out at home by deGrom on a comebacker hit by Jose Osuna.

The Mets had their own opportunity the top of that inning when they loaded the bases with one out against Pittsburgh starter Trevor Williams. Devin Mesoraco came up to the plate but swung at the first pitch and grounded into a double play to end the threat.

That was not the only chance the Mets had. They had a runner in scoring position in the third, fourth, and fifth innings and failed to come up with the big hit every time. deGrom doubled with one out in the fifth but was left standing there when the inning ended. One of the reasons deGrom was left stranded was because Brandon Nimmo struck out for the second out that inning. Nimmo had a brutal night at the plate overall. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and left five men on base.

The fifth was the last time the Mets really threatened even though Phillip Evans put a charge into a ball that was unfortunately hit to the deepest part of the park for a long out in the seventh. That was bad news for the Met starter who finally staggered a bit in the sixth. Polanco singled with two outs and easily stole second since Mesoraco’s throw went into center. Colin Moran made the Mets pay with a single to put the Pirates on the board.

Once again that was the dagger in deGrom’s coffin. That one run was enough but with the ace continually pitching on a razor’s edge, he got nicked even further the next inning. Wilmer Flores couldn’t get to a ball hit Jordan Luplow which set up the Pirates nicely. Francisco Cervelli sacrificed him over and a single set up first and third. David Freese pinch-hit and hit a weak ground ball that was well placed and Amed Rosario could only get one out while a run came home. Adam Frazier had deGrom’s number all night long and he hit a double to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.

It was not deGrom’s best this season but it was still seven innings, three runs, and five strikeouts against a pesky, surging Pirate team. Robert Gsellman relieved him and allowed Pittsburgh to unnecessarily tack on and the Mets had no fight in them once getting down.

deGrom’s ERA rose to 1.82, now has a losing record for the season, and deserves so much more than whatever it is this team can give.

SB Nation GameThreads

Amazin’ Avenue
MLB

Box scores

ESPN
MLB

Win Probability Added

Fangraphs.com

What’s WPA?

Big winners: None
Big losers: Brandon Nimmo -20.4%, Devin Mesoraco -17.4%, Wilmer Flores -11.8%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jeff McNeil walk in fourth
Teh sux0rest play: Colin Moran RBI single in sixth
Total pitcher WPA: 0%
Total batter WPA: -50.0%
GWRBI!: Colin Moran