NEW YORK _ After the final pitch of his brilliant season, with a crowd screaming in approval, Jacob deGrom cracked a smile.
Rarely did the righty showcase any emotion this season while producing a historic campaign, but he enjoyed this moment. In his final chance to showcase why he deserved the Cy Young Award, deGrom provided a masterpiece.
One of the greatest seasons in MLB history concluded Wednesday with deGrom throwing eight scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over Atlanta at Citi Field. DeGrom finished 10-9 with an MLB-best 1.70 ERA, and should be crowned the NL CY Young next month.
Michael Conforto and Dom Smith drove in all three runs.
A season's worth of excellence has put deGrom in the driver's seat for the Cy Young Award, and allowed Wednesday to be a night of celebration rather than one of anxiety.
The ERA gap between deGrom and his competitors is too large to be discounted, and he's also set two MLB records along the way.
He has allowed no more than three runs in 29 straight starts, the longest single-season streak in baseball history and tied for the longest streak ever. DeGrom has also produced 24 straight quality starts, the most in a season.
Mets manager Mickey Callaway has championed for deGrom all season long, and even claimed Wednesday that he feels deGrom's season is the best in baseball history.
"This is going to be the best season ever in my mind with the caliber of play and how hard it is to pitch these days," Callaway said before the middle game of this three-game series. "There might not have been a better season."
It's fitting that deGrom's season ended with one of his most dominant outings of the season and with him walking off the mound after a strikeout.
DeGrom allowed singled to two of the first five hitters he faced before mowing down Atlanta's hitters. The next 21 hitters were retired in order, including a bizarre sequence to end the sixth. Ronald Acuna Jr. did not run initially after striking out on a pitch that got by Devin Mesoraco, but he ultimately beat Mesoraco's throw, which went wide of first.
Acuna then turned toward second, allowing the Mets to tag him and end the inning.
The seventh inning featured a much more traditional out with second baseman Jeff McNeil making a diving grab to rob Ender Inciarte of a leadoff single. There were questions about McNeil's defense upon his promotion, but he been solid defensively.
The crowd started chanting "MVP" for deGrom in the eighth, and the crowd of 23, 208 erupted after deGrom caught Ozzie Albies looking to end the inning.
That strikeout marked the 1,000th of deGrom's career.
As the Mets batted in the bottom of the inning, the crowd chanted "we want Jake" but they did not get their wish as Seth Lugo emerged _ to boos _ for the bottom of the inning.
DeGrom allowed only two hits and struck out 10.
"Every game is the same. He goes out and dominates the same way and with the same stuff," Callaway said. "When looking back over the length of the games, that's what impressive for me, for somebody to do this and not just be good or in the Cy Young talk but to be one of the best pitchers ever in one season, that's what's impressive to me."
After inducing plenty of groans through the first inning innings as they left five men on base, the Mets finally gave deGrom a lead in the sixth.
Michael Conforto ripped a one-out double to right past a lunging Freddie Freeman, and Smith drove him with a single up the middle on an 0-2 pitch.
Conforto then provided an insurance run with his career-high 28th homer in the eighth before Smith followed with a shot to left for a 3-0 edge.
