NEW YORK _ Wait, was this good news?
You'll have to excuse the Mets if they didn't recognize it right away. After all, just hours prior to pitch, they were forced to announce that Juan Lagares, who originally seemed to just stub his toe on a play Wednesday, would require surgery and likely is out for the year. But as Jacob deGrom mowed down one batter after another, clearly no worse for wear from the hyperextended elbow that sent him to the disabled list earlier this month, even the Mets had to admit that this was a pretty good sign.
After surviving only one inning in his previous start, and raising questions as to whether he was truly healthy, deGrom put all doubts to rest Friday night. He pitched seven innings, matched a career-high with 13 strikeouts, and dominated throughout as the Mets pushed aside the Diamondbacks, 3-1, at Citi Field. DeGrom allowed one run and six hits, and didn't walk a batter. He struck out 13 for the fourth time in his career; his previous 13-strikeout performance was on April 15 of last year.
Michael Conforto went 4-for-4 with two RBIs. The four hits match a career high; he also went 4-for-4 in his second ever major-league game.
Despite needing 45 pitches to get out of that one inning in his last start, deGrom didn't allow a run, meaning that his scoreless streak was intact. On Friday, that streak _ 241/3 innings _ came to an end on Jake Lamb's run-scoring double in the sixth. Still, it was a career-high for deGrom, who has been a fixture of reliability on a team well-known for its mercurial nature.
Even better, deGrom (4-0, 1.75 ERA) was at his peak from the beginning. He needed only 13 pitches to retire the side in the first inning and regained the fastball command that abandoned him during his May 11 start. The Diamondbacks had only two runners reach scoring position in the first five innings and never posed a truly serious threat while deGrom was on the mound.
Meanwhile, the Mets offense was able to do just enough ... with a little help, that is.
Brandon Nimmo led off the bottom of the first with a walk, and Adrubal Cabrera hit into a fielder's choice that was thrown away at second. Wilmer Flores grounded out to short to plate the first run of the game, and one batter later Conforto hit an opposite-field single to score Cabrera and put the Mets up 2-0. Both runs were unearned.
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