Mets can’t support deGrom in another frustrating loss

After rain delayed Jacob deGrom’s start by two days, he returned to the mound and gave up two runs in seven innings in the Mets’ eventual 5-3 loss.

deGrom might have been rusty when he walked the first batter of the game, but he came roaring right back and struck out the next four batters. His stuff looked electric early on but in the fourth came a minor hiccup.

Perhaps if this was a team that actually supported it’s ace the fourth wouldn’t have felt so deflating. The Mets were again having trouble getting any offense together this time against Miami starter Jose Urena. The game was scoreless and one mistake could cost deGrom and this time it did.

With two out Brian Anderson hit an infield single Jeff McNeil couldn’t quite corral. Derek Dietrich followed with a bloop single but deGrom still had a chance to get out of the inning when he got to 0-2 to Lewis Brinson. deGrom left a fastball over the middle to the plate and Brinson didn’t miss. It didn’t help Austin Jackson took a bad route to the ball but nevertheless it was a double and two runs scored.

The Mets cut into the lead in the sixth when Michael Conforto went yard for the third consecutive game to make it 2-1. That would the the only run the Mets would score while deGrom was still in the game. For his part, outside of the fourth he was dominant. He pitched seven innings, struck out nine, and gave up just three hits. This was his twenty-sixth consecutive start of allowing three runs or fewer which breaks the single season record that was held by Leslie Cole set back in 1910.

With the offense already struggling to score runs, the combined efforts of Anthony Swarzak and Robert Gsellman effectively put the game out of reach. In his first appearance off the DL, Swarzak gave up a solo home run to J.T. Riddle. Gsellman pitched the ninth and was hit hard right from the beginning. Brandon Nimmo also made an ill advised dive for a ball that drove in a run and put a runner on third with nobody out. That runner also came home and the Marlins had a 5-1 lead.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth Kevin Plawecki hit a two-run home run to cut into the Marlins lead. The Mets did eventually get the tying run to the plate, but Amed Rosario grounded out to hand Jacob deGrom his ninth loss of the season.

deGrom’s ERA rose slightly to 1.71 but his record dropped to below .500. This was a typical deGrom start for the 2018 season. While he was in the game the Mets scored only one run and had four hits, deGrom had one of them and Conforto two. The offense and the bullpen were again the main culprit for the loss, but it is the L next to the man who least deserves it that is the most frustrating.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big winners: Michael Conforto +17.4%
Big losers: Amed Rosario -17.6%, Jeff McNeil -11.5%, Todd Frazier -10.4%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Michael Conforto home run in the sixth
Teh sux0rest play: Lewis Brinson double in the fourth
Total pitcher WPA: -7.6%
Total batter WPA: -42.4%
GWRBI!: Brian Anderson