On Friday night, Clayton Kershaw outpitched Noah Syndergaard in the Dodgers 9-2 victory. Jacob deGrom and the Mets have the opportunity to knot up the series against Hyun-Jin Ryu, who looked to be running away with the Cy Young award just a month ago. Due to a few bad starts, he is no longer the front runner.
NL ERA leaders heading into Saturday's games
Hyun-Jin Ryu, LAD – 2.45
Mike Soroka, ATL – 2.57
Max Scherzer, WSH – 2.65
Jacob deGrom, NYM – 2.70
Sonny Gray, CIN – 2.80
Jack Flaherty, STL – 2.99considering MLB's using a baseball with a SuperBall core this year, that's awesome..
— Tim Ryder (@TimothyRRyder) September 14, 2019
deGrom and Ryu seem to be trending in opposite directions. Over his last four starts, he has an ERA just under 10 and has walked 7 batters. This has caused his ERA to jump a full run from 1.45 to 2.45. Rye’s recent struggles has also allowed deGrom and a few others to reenter the Cy Young picture.
Since the trade deadline, deGrom has pitched to a 2.33 ERA and has kept himself in the front of the pack. No Met has ever won back to back Cy Young awards and if he wins another, he will join Tom Seaver as the only other Met to win multiple Cy Young awards.
deGrom Has to Lead the Charge
After their loss in the first game of the series, game two becomes a must win game. The Cubs are going to defeat the Pirates and a four game deficit seems insurmountable at this point in the season. The Mets have been full of fight all season, but it will take a major miracle to comeback from that.
Absolute legend.
(you're welcome) pic.twitter.com/p0Kdk5C6b7
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 13, 2019
deGrom will see a lineup with only three right handed hitters, much like Syndergaard the previous night. A win for him would equal the same amount of wins he put together last season and the Mets need him to carry them to a victory.