OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 24: Jacob deGrom #48 of the New York Mets stands on the mound after the Oakland Athletics scored a run in the first inning at RingCentral Coliseum on September 24, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom had a tough night against the Atlanta Braves, giving up three runs in an eventual loss.
With the win, Atlanta tied the Mets in the NL East standings.
It’s tough to pin the loss on deGrom, as some in the New York media have done, as he had 11 strikeouts, no walks and gave up just three solo home runs to the Braves. Those home runs were courtesy of Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Dansby Swanson — not in that order.
The simple problem was that New York gave him no run support.
deGrom came back from injury this year and has emerged as a key piece to the Mets postseason rotation once again. For New York to reach the World Series, he and Max Scherzer will need to be lights out in the playoffs.
As solid as deGrom was at times on Friday night, he was not perfect. He’ll need to be better in about a week’s time.
Mets: Jacob deGrom falls short against the Braves
deGrom, who popped a blister during his last start, did not let it impact him.
“I don’t really think it affected me,” deGrom said. “I just threw some pitches down the middle. I didn’t do a good job of locating when I needed to. I left some balls over the middle of the plate and they did damage on them.”
deGrom is not usually as susceptible to the long ball, but against Atlanta, he let a few hanging breaking pitches get the best of him.