PHILADELPHIA – Jacob de Grom’s bid for the three-time Cy Young Award received double success on Wednesday night.
First, the ace Mets – with some shaky defense as the culprit – allowed three earned injuries against the Phillies over the course of two innings. He then pulled out of the game with what the team called a hamstring spasm.
Throughout it all, the Mets rallied, breaking through an early four-run deficit to foil a three-game drift with a 5-4 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park to improve their slim postseason chances.
In two innings, de Grome allowed three earned injuries on four hits with one strikeout and one walk. He started the night as the NL leader with a 1.69 ERA, but that number jumped to 2.09 after he left. Beneficiaries included Trevor Bauer of the Reds, who took over the NL lead with a 1.71 ERA. Cubs’ Yu Darwish comes behind him at 1.86. DeGrom is trying to join Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson as the only pitcher to win three Cyy Young awards in a row.
Andres Jimenez achieved success with the RBI single in ninth place after Robinson Cano singled out the inning lead and runner Amed Rosario gave way to Hector Neris.
The Mets won tonight but star pitcher Jakob de Grom was out early.AP (2)
JD Davis had a great game for the Mets, 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Davis defeated a two-out RBI double in the eighth, which tied 4-4 against Adam Morgan and provided de Gromo with no decision.
Michael Vacha gave the Mets a comeback chance, allowing only one run on five strikes over four innings after de Groma were sent off. Justin Wilson, Miguel Castro and Edwin Diaz spent three scoreless innings together to complete it.
Andrew Knapp’s shot from Dominic Smith’s RBI double sparked the Phillies’ big inning against de Grom. In the inning, RBI fielder Andrew McCutchen’s pick led to the final run, with Wilson Ramos dropping a shot from Jimenez while trying to apply a quick tag on Scott Kingery on the plate. Adam Hazley’s sacrificial fly resulted in the Phillies in a 2-0 lead.
DeGrom’s last two scheduled starts of the season are Monday against the Rays and the week after Saturday against Nationals. It is unclear whether he will achieve these starts.
Zach Wheeler, in his second appearance against his former team in 1.5 weeks, had three earned wounds on seven hits in 7 ¹ / innings without a decision. The right-hander made a shot for the first time since he ripped off his nail last week while putting on his pants, causing him to miss the start.
Davis blew a two-way homer in the sixth, which pulled the Mets at 4-3. The Mets’ first break came when Cano’s RBI dropped after Davis’s double in the fourth.
