NEW YORK _ Jacob deGrom reached a milestone on Sunday, logging 200 innings in the regular season for the first time in his career, though he took the loss in the Mets' 3-2 defeat against the Nationals at Citi Field.
For deGrom, reaching the plateau had been a personal goal, one that he viewed as a dividing line between the ordinary and the elite. The Mets right-hander officially joined those ranks in the fifth inning when he struck out Trea Turner.
In six innings, deGrom struck out 11 and walked none while allowing three runs, including a two-run shot to Turner in the third. He was pulled after 102 pitches.
With one more start left this season, deGrom has established a career high with 2011/3 innings and 239 strikeouts. His 11 double-digit strikeout games in a season is tied for fourth in franchise history with Dwight Gooden in 1985.
Not since Bartolo Colon logged 2021/3 innings in 2014 had a Mets pitcher eclipsed the 200-inning mark.
The Mets equaled a single-season franchise record for homers. Brandon Nimmo hammered a solo shot off Nationals ace Max Scherzer, the 218th home run hit by the Mets this season, equaling the record set last season. But it was the only run support for deGrom, whose season has been the only highlight in an otherwise dreadful year for Mets pitching.
In the eighth, the Mets trimmed their deficit to one run on a Jose Reyes single, but pinch hitter Kevin Plawecki struck out with the bases loaded to end the threat.
Mets starting pitchers began play with a 5.20 ERA, which would qualify as the worst in franchise history, an outcome brought about by a wave of injuries and surprising underperformance.
Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler finished the season on the disabled list. Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo dealt with health issues while taking a step backward from their performances of a season ago.
Noah Syndergaard spent most of the season out with a torn lat. On Saturday, his five-pitch effort in the first inning represented his first game action since April. He could pitch again as soon as Friday.
"He came out of the game feeling great," manager Terry Collins said. "He should have. When you throw only five pitches, you ought to feel pretty good."
Meanwhile, the Mets have been hoping that Matt Harvey uses his final outings of the season to repair his battered confidence. One day after Harvey allowed three runs in four innings _ lowering his ERA to 11.78 in his five outings since coming off the disabled list _ Collins said he saw "some real positives," including an improved slider and better fastball command.
"It's too easy to beat yourself up when the expectations are every time you go out to be perfect," Collins said.
With all the challenges the Mets have faced with their pitching, deGrom has been relatively low maintenance. Aside from a couple hiccups during the season, he has been the team's only workhorse, working 90 innings more than any other starter. His 3.53 ERA leads all qualifying Mets starters, with Lugo next closest at 5.03, illustrating the size of the gap between the ace and the rest of the rotation.
