When a string of injuries to various body parts began during the middle of last season, Jacob deGrom was put on the shelf as the best pitcher in baseball. Now that he has returned, deGrom is making it clear that title still belongs to him.
DeGrom threw six scoreless innings, in which he faced 20 hitters and retired 18, 10 by strikeout, in the Mets’ 1-0 win over the Phillies in front of a sellout crowd of 43,857, the biggest of the season and the ninth largest regular-season crowd in Citi Field history.
Phillies batters swung at 44 of deGrom’s 76 pitches. They connected for two singles — one in the first inning by Rhys Hoskins and one in the sixth by Bryson Stott — and missed 19 times.
The Mets scored in the first inning thanks to Starling Marte’s legs. Marte singled, stole second and took third base when the throw escaped into center field. Pete Alonso came through again with a single off Aaron Nola for his league-leading 97th RBI.
“The value of one run in the big leagues is tremendous — especially when Jake’s on the mound,” said Alonso, whose average is up to .281. “You know you have a pretty good shot to win the ballgame.”
DeGrom had his run, and he and the Mets’ bullpen made it stand up.
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