Jacob deGrom’s Cy Young campaign attached outsized meaning to each start at the tail end of last season. This year, he could be pitching for even more down the stretch.
The ace responsible for repeatedly carrying the Mets lifted the team to new — well, technically, old — heights at Citi Field, as deGrom allowed two runs, and drove in a pair, to bring the suddenly surging franchise back to .500 for the first time since May 28, with a 6-2 win over the Marlins in the opener of Monday’s doubleheader.
The Mets, who have won 10 of their past 11 games, and hold a major league-best 16-6 record since the All-Star break, entered the day just three games out of the second wild-card spot in the National League, and in position to hold a winning record for the first time since May 2.
DeGrom (7-7), whose own record reached .500 for the first time since April 26, pitched seven innings for the fourth straight start, allowing five hits and one walk, with eight strikeouts. Support for the right-hander — entering with a 2.04 ERA since May 22, but a 5-8 record in those outings — was simplified in a matchup against Miami starter Robert Dugger, a former 18th-round pick making his major league debut.
Dugger’s first rookie mistake came on his first career pitch, hanging a slider to Jeff McNeil, who slugged his 14th home run of the season. It was also his third straight game with a homer.
Amed Rosario put the Mets in front for good with a solo homer (his 12th) in the third inning, and deGrom increased the cushion by ripping a two-run, bases-loaded single in the fourth, putting the Mets up 4-1. It was deGrom’s third career multi-RBI game. The Mets added another pair of insurance runs in the fifth.
The N.L.-worst Marlins held little hope against one of baseball’s best, but familiarity shrunk the chasm between deGrom and the league’s worst lineup.
Making his fifth start against Miami this year, deGrom allowed four hits in the first three innings — including three doubles — with the Marlins jumping on a series of first pitches. Miami briefly tied the score in the second, following back-to-back doubles by Brian Anderson and Starlin Castro, but deGrom quickly recovered, retiring nine straight, until a sixth-inning solo homer by Isan Diaz. The Mets ace threw 94 pitches (69 strikes).
After Justin Wilson pitched a scoreless eighth, Edwin Diaz allowed two base runners in a non-save situation, but the struggling reliever escaped by striking out Jorge Alfaro, clinching the Mets’ unlikely ascent back to .500.
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