NEW YORK — Mets ace Jacob deGrom couldn’t help but ponder his future Saturday night. With free agency looming and the San Diego Padres taking the first game of the National League Wild Card Series, deGrom said he went into Game 2 knowing that if he didn’t pitch well, it could be the last time he pitched to Citi. Field as Met.
“That crossed my mind, but the hope was that we would win a baseball game and keep playing,” deGrom said.
He went six innings and allowed five hits and two runs on two walks with eight strikeouts in a 7-3 Mets win. The win ensured deGrom would have at least one more day to put on a Mets uniform Sunday night when the Padres and Mets play in Game 3.
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DeGrom set the tone early, starting the game by throwing 12 pitches over 99 mph and seven over 100 mph. He retired the top of the Padres lineup in order, striking out pinch hitter Juan Soto and swinging Manny Machado. All night long, deGrom relied primarily on his fastball, which topped 100 mph on 19 of his 99 pitches, and his slider, throwing his curveball just twice and his changeup six times. Sixty of his pitches were strikes.
The Padres scored two runs off Grom, the first on a Trent Grisham home run, the second in as many nights.
“I have to tip my hat to Trent, that homer, I felt it was a good pitch and he just hit it,” deGrom said.
The second run came after deGrom walked Grisham to lead off the fifth inning, while Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar hit a game-tying RBI single down the right-field line. DeGrom threw five straight sliders in Profar’s six-pitch at bat.
“That’s the one I wish I had hit a fastball,” deGrom said of Profar’s at-bat. “I felt like I had a good feel for it; I just threw him too many in a row, and he kept a fair one.”
DeGrom said he hit a groove in his last inning on the mound.
“Slider was good and fast, actually [Padres first baseman Brandon] Drury, I threw one and where I wanted,” deGrom said. “Early on, they were a little off and didn’t have the height I wanted them to. I felt like I made an adjustment there, and in the sixth inning I felt the best.”
After deGrom left the game, Mets manager Buck Showalter made an unusual choice to bring in closer Edwin Diaz in the seventh inning. With Grisham hitting two home runs against the Mets in the first two games of the series, Showalter wanted to challenge the Padres’ outfielder with the team’s toughest reliever before the top of San Diego’s lineup came in a game of 3-2.
Against Diaz, Grisham grounded out before Padres catcher Austin Nola singled to center. Diaz then got Profar and Soto to strike out to end the seventh inning.
Diaz returned for the eighth inning. After getting Machado to settle, he walked Josh Bell and struck out Jake Cronenworth. Showalter came to the mound to replace Diaz with reliever Adam Ottavino, who struck out Drury to end the inning.
Showalter said he had no intention of Diaz pitching three innings and ending the game.
“Where they were in the batting order, we had issues with Grisham. I wasn’t planning on pitching a third inning with him,” Showalter said of Diaz. “There were things that would have changed that; if I had two eight-pitch innings, I would think about it.”
Diaz asked to stay in the contest to end Drury, but Showalter said he needed him to be available for Game 3 on Sunday.
“I felt great. I thought I could get Drury out, but he said he needed me tomorrow and that was enough for today,” Diaz said. “So, I said let’s win the game tomorrow.”