Nola tops Mets, who help idle deGrom only a little
The Mets' Jay Bruce homers in the second inning against Phillies Cy Young candidate Aaron Nola, who ended up with the win in the Phils' 4-3 victory on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, at Citi Field. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Mets haven’t done much to boost Jacob deGrom’s bid to have the words “Cy Young Award winner” next to his name. An 8-8 record doesn’t belong in the same sentence with a 1.68 ERA after 28 starts.
They had another chance to help the cause Friday night and deGrom wasn’t even starting the series opener against the Phillies at Citi Field. The Mets were facing one of his top competitors to be named the National League’s top pitcher, Aaron Nola.
If they could drive up his ERA and keep his record from rising, it could only help deGrom.
But they only drove his ERA up from 2.23 to 2.29. And Rhys Hoskins drove the go-ahead homer against Tyler Bashlor in the eighth to give Nola and Philadelphia a 4-3 win.
So Nola’s record rose to 16-4 after yielding three runs and three hits in seven innings. The 25-year-old righthander struck out eight, walked one and hit one.
