He may have left earlier than normal, but Jacob deGrom was masterful against during a Mets Opening Day.
DeGrom handed the ball over to the bullpen after five innings of work and 72 pitches, which is due to his back problem a few days prior. He had left a simulated game because of back tightness, and he said earlier this week that his pitch count on Opening Day would be lower than normal.
But that didn’t stop deGrom from coming right out of the gate with electric stuff.
“Felt like I was very under control. Felt like I wasn’t falling off as hard as I do sometimes,” he told reporters after the game via Zoom. “I felt like everything was kinda in line, and like I said, stayed smooth and it was coming out real well.”
DeGrom’s threw 11 fastballs in the first inning, which were either 99 or 100 mph. If that wasn’t absurd, he also featured a 93-mph changeup and a 94-mph slider throughout the day as well.
That fastball, though, is what set everything up and he was happy with how his location was with that all day.
“I felt like I was throwing the fastball pretty much where I wanted and I try to read swings throughout the game and I felt like it had good life on it and decided to stick with it,” he said.
That’s the definition of being amped up on the mound. But, of course, this wasn’t a normal Opening Day without the screaming Mets fans in the Citi Field stands. It led to a more interaction between pitcher and hitter, as you might have seen when deGrom smiled at Freddie Freeman after throwing him a 3-0 changeup in his first at-bat.
“It felt different even looking around,” deGrom said. “There was more interaction with the guys in the batter’s box than normal.”
And the fans were definitely missed.
“It definitely pumps you up to play in front of the fans,” he explained. “We play to play in front of the fans so definitely was a little different.”
DeGrom was still very much locked in, though, and that showed when the only hit he let up was a broken bat single by Ronald Acuna Jr., which was just out of his reach. A couple of Braves hit some long fly balls, but other than that, there were a lot of swings and misses with deGrom totaling eight strikeouts.
Also, a stat worth noting: DeGrom hasn’t allowed a run in 28 straight innings, dating back to last season. That’s a new career-best.
As SNY’s Gary Cohen put it during the broadcast, “it’s just another day at the office for Jacob deGrom.”
“I was just letting it fly, letting the chips fall where they may,” he said. “I would’ve liked a little bit earlier contact but didn’t want to make any mistakes. I wanted to try to go out there and put up zeros and give us a chance to win and we were fortunate enough to get a win today. That was kinda my main goal.”
The quest for three straight Cy Young Awards is off on the right foot.
