NEW YORK — Mets ace Jacob deGrom Couldn’t help but think about his future on Saturday night. With free agency and the San Diego Padres taking Game 1 of the National League wild-card series, deGrom said he went into his start in Game 2 knowing that if he didn’t pitch well, he could be the last in City. The field as an encounter.
“That went through my mind, but there was hope that we could win a baseball game and keep playing,” deGrom said.
He went six innings and allowed five hits and two runs with eight strikeouts in a 7-3 Mets win. The win ensured that DeGrom will have at least one more day to wear a Mets uniform when the Padres and Mets play Game 3 on Sunday night.
DeGrom set the tone early, throwing 12 pitches over 99 mph and seven over 100 mph in the game. He retired the slugger at the top of the Padres’ lineup Juan Soto And Manny Machado Oscillates. Throughout the evening, deGrom relied primarily on his fastball — which topped 100 mph on 19 of his 99 pitches — and slider, throwing his curveball twice and his changeup six times. Sixty of his pitches were strikes.
The Padres scored two runs off DeGrom, the first coming on a home run Trent GrishamHis second in as many nights.
“I have to tip my hat to Trent, that homer, I felt like that was a good pitch and he hit it,” deGrom said.
The second run came after DeGrom singled off Grisham to lead off the fifth inning, as the Padres outfielder. Professor Jurickson RBI’s single hit into right-field. DeGrom threw five consecutive sliders in Profar’s six-pitch at-bat.
“That’s where I wish I’d gone to the fastball,” Proffer said in the at-bat deGrom. “I felt like it was good; I threw him several in a row and he kept one fair.”
DeGrom said he hit a groove on the mound in his last inning.
“The slider was nice and fast, really [Padres first baseman Brandon] Drury, I threw one down where I wanted,” DeGrom said. “At first, they were a little bit off, not quite as high as I wanted. I felt like I made an adjustment there, and the sixth inning felt great.”
After deGrom left, Mets manager Buck Showalter made an unusual choice Edwin Diaz In the seventh inning. Since Grisham had hit two homers against the Mets in the first two games of the series, Showalter wanted to challenge the Padres outfielder with the team’s toughest reliever before Showalter topped the San Diego lineup in a 3-2 game.
Against Diaz, Grisham struck out before the Padres catcher Austin Nola Separate to medium. Diaz then grounded out to Proffer and Soto to end the seventh inning.
Diaz returned for the eighth inning. When Machado was grounded, he walked Josh Bell and struck Jake Cronenworth. Showalter then replaced Diaz in relief Adam OtavinoYar struck out Drury to end the inning.
Showalter said he had no intention of Diaz going three innings to finish the game.
“Where they were in the batting line, we had trouble with Grisham. I don’t plan on going through the third inning with him,” Showalter said of Diaz. “There were things that could have changed it; if he had two eight-pitch innings, I’d think about it.”
Diaz asked to stay in the game to finish Drury, but Showalter said he should be available for Game 3 on Sunday.
“I’m feeling good. I thought I might get Drury out, but he said he needs me tomorrow and that’s enough for today,” Diaz said. “So I said let’s win tomorrow’s game.”
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