Jacob deGrom wins after escaping bases-loaded jam
Jacob deGrom of the Mets pitches against the Nationals at Nationals Park on April 5, 2018 in Washington. Credit: Getty Images / Greg Fiume
WASHINGTON — The ball kept slipping from Jacob deGrom’s hand — and the game was slipping away — when pitching coach Dave Eiland visited the mound in the sixth inning. It was a pitcher’s nightmare: bases loaded, nobody out. DeGrom had thrown eight straight balls and needed to extricate himself from the toughest of jams.
Three batters, one line drive and one iffy called strike later, deGrom ended the inning and his day with the lead intact en route to the Mets’ 8-2 win over the Nationals on Thursday.
“With the cold like that, I was having a hard time gripping the baseball,” deGrom said. “I just slowed it down a little bit. Bases loaded, I don’t really have to worry about them stealing, so slowed it down and was able to locate some.”
After deGrom loaded the bases, Ryan Zimmerman flied out to right, Howie Kendrick lined out hard to shortstop and Trea Turner struck out looking. Turner vehemently disagreed with the called third strike, and his quick exchange with plate umpire Doug Eddings resulted in his ejection.
“He didn’t like the call, I guess,” said deGrom, who said he hadn’t seen a replay. “I didn’t want it on the plate. It was closer to the plate than I actually wanted it.”
DeGrom’s line looked a lot like his first one: six innings, two runs (one earned). He allowed four hits and three walks, striking out five.
The 25-pitch sixth cost deGrom (2-0, 1.54 ERA) the chance to go deeper. With deGrom at 86 pitches, Mickey Callaway chose Brandon Nimmo to hit for the pitcher in the seventh. “[DeGrom] spent every bit of energy he had to get through that bases-loaded jam,” Callaway said. “There was no second thought.”
Said deGrom: “[Staying in the game] wasn’t an option. Mickey just said, ‘Hey, you’re done.’ I said, ‘All right.’ ”
DeGrom’s day would have been much neater if two iffy defensive plays had gone his way. In the first, Jay Bruce booted a ball, allowing the unearned run to score. In the third, Jose Reyes’ relay home was off line, allowing the earned run to score.
“His stuff is really good to bail him out when times start getting tough, but he never backs down,” Callaway said. “He had trouble gripping the ball the first few hitters that inning. But he bore down. He didn’t let that beat him. He got some big outs. That changed the game.”
