New York Mets’ star pitcher Jacob deGrom has been placed, once again, on the 10-day injured list, this time with right forearm tightness that he reported over the weekend but has actually been affecting him for a while.
The issue was first made public on Saturday, when Mets’ manager Luis Rojas considered his ace ‘day to day’. Since that moment, the team decided to shut him down until the tightness completely goes away.
“I’m frustrated,” deGrom told Daniel Guerrero of MLB.com. “I don’t know what else to say. I mean, I guess it probably is good news whenever structurally everything looks good, but you go out there and try to throw a baseball and the forearm just doesn’t feel good. The level of frustration right now is very high.
“You want to be out there trying to help your team win baseball games. I think that’s where the frustration comes from. And then my job is to run out there every fifth day, and I haven’t been able to do that. That’s part of the frustration as well, but then you got to get over it and come up with the best plan to get healthy and hopefully stay out there.”
The Mets ruled out any structural damage
Indeed, the Mets most valuable player underwent an MRI on Saturday that, thankfully, showed no structural damage. Rojas said that deGrom has been feeling the tightness since a pre-All Star game bullpen session.
“This is something that we decided today,” Rojas said. “He still has the tightness in his forearm, so until the tightness is resolved, he’s not going to be able to throw. That’s not going to be tomorrow, so that’s why we’re IL-ing him. Making sure that that’s resolved and then he can throw, and then we can start probably having [him] play catch and go into a progression from what he does to have his start. That’s why we’re doing the move. He’s still tight, still not able to throw, so he’s feeling it.”
The Mets’ pitcher has dealt with several ailments this season, from right side tightness in May, to right flexor tendinitis in June, to a sore right shoulder a few days later.
He has a phenomenal 1.08 ERA for the season, however, and the Mets will miss him dearly if his absence extends to more than a few days.
Even though the New York Mets lost 4-3 to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night, it’s fair to say that Jacob deGrom, their ace, had another dominant start. The bulk of the damage against him came in a three-run first inning.
After that, he settled in, to put it lightly: he finished with the three runs allowed and five hits in seven strong innings, with no walks and 14 strikeouts. He even fanned eight consecutive batters at one point.
DeGrom had retired 37 straight hitters in the first inning, which is mind-blowing. But the Braves somehow managed to hit a triple, an RBI single, and a two-run homer, courtesy of Austin Riley.
“How did he hit that?!” deGrom asked his catcher James McCann, before slamming his glove into the dugout bench. The Mets’ ace had thrown Riley a fastball off the plate, and he went the other way and knocked it out of the park in impressive fashion.
The Mets’ star warned that first inning would be ‘all they’ll get’, and delivered
But the words deGrom said to his pitching coach Jeremy Hefner would mark the rest of his night: “That’s all they get.” And that’s all they got.
The Mets’ pitcher noticed that the Braves were hunting for his fastball, so he adjusted his strategy and used his secondaries more. It paid off.
Even when he ‘struggles’, he can adjust back and dominate. That’s deGrom.
“You guys know how he is,” Rojas said. “He gets upset when he gives up a run. And it’s not because of this year, because of the numbers that he’s had for the season that are historic. It’s just the way he is. He’s always been like that.”
In total, deGrom earned 27 whiffs, his top output since he had 29 back on April 23.
The series finale between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves had an exciting start and finish. Atlanta found a way to get to Jacob deGrom in the first inning, and Freddie Freeman found a way to spoil the Mets’ ninth-inning comeback with a walk-off single. The gutsy ninth inning gave the Braves a 4-3 win and a much-needed series win.
Retired the last 18 batters in a row and collected 14 punchouts on the night.
The Braves never hit the ball out of the infield off Seth Lugo, but it was enough to scratch out a run. Guillermo Heredia ended up at second after a Lugo throwing error started the inning. Lugo tried to make a hero play as he fell to the ground to field a swinging bunt and flung it into the camera well. Pablo Sandoval moved him over with a ground out, an intentional walk to Ronald Acuna Jr., and Ender Inciarte’s walk after being down 0-2 set the table for Freeman.
He had struck out in every at-bat in the game and made sure it did not happen again. Freeman banked a first-pitch curve off Lugo’s ankle and beat Luis Guillorme‘s throw to first to get the win. Guillorme might have had a play at third base for a force but assumed Acuna Jr. would hustle on the biggest play of the game.
Getting Started Early
It is rare for a starting pitcher to strike out 14 batters and have his worst start of the season. deGrom showed us how it is possible in his dominant outing. The Braves did all of their scoring in the first inning, and it was plenty to survive against the worst scoring offense in baseball.
deGrom had gone 34 consecutive starts without allowing a run in the first inning, but the Braves had other plans. Ehire Adrianza led off with a triple, and NL RBI leader Ozzie Albies drove him in with a single. Austin Riley followed with a two-run home run which was the first first-inning home run against deGrom in almost two years. After the rough first inning, he settled in for another dominant start.
deGrom pitched seven innings, allowing three runs, striking out 14, and retiring 18 straight batters at one point. He also flirted with history again by striking out eight straight Braves. Due to his usual dominance, this was deGrom’s worst of the season but was plenty good enough to deserve a victory.
Matching Zeros
Ian Anderson was the anti-deGrom, needing just two strikeouts in his seven innings of work, and held the Mets to two runs. Pete Alonso gave the Mets an early lead with an RBI single, then Dominic Smith did the rest of the work with two home runs. His second came off Will Smith in the ninth inning to tie the game. James McCann had two hits on the night, but as usual, the Mets offense took a night off.
Luckily the loss does not hurt the Mets division lead with the Washington Nationals losing. On Friday, they begin the Subway Series in the Bronx with the New York Yankees. Taijuan Walker will start against Jordan Montgomery for the 7:05 start from Yankee Stadium.
After splitting their doubleheader on Friday, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies play the third game of their weekend series. Both games finished with 2-1 scores and went to extra innings as the offense was minimal. Saturday afternoon’s game is scheduled for a 4:10 p.m. start if they avoid the rain.
The Mets offense is in the middle of a horrible slump where they can barely put up runs on a nightly basis. Their seven-run outburst against the Atlanta Braves was a glimmer of hope that the offense would get going, but they have disappointed in the following games. Game one of the doubleheader saw Aaron Nola tie Tom Seaver’s record with ten consecutive strikeouts.
The Phillies’ offense was just as bad on Friday, but their bullpen almost allowed the Mets to take both games. They blew both saves and have a 4.41 ERA on the season, which has forced a closer change. Jose Alvarado was handed the job but failed in game one, and former closer Hector Neris recorded the save in game two. The five best relievers the Phillies use all pitched on Friday, which gives the Mets some leverage heading into today’s game.
Pitching Matchup
Jacob deGrom takes the mound looking to add to his historic season. In his last start, he threw five innings and struck out six on 70 pitches. deGrom has not thrown more than 90 pitches since April due to the Mets treating his workload very carefully. He should be in the 80-85 range if he is on top of his game like usual. deGrom is a notorious day game assassin with a 1.84 ERA in 62 starts, the best of all time.
Zach Eflin starts for the Phillies and is looking to rebound from a rough start against the San Francisco Giants. He allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits over five innings. Eflin has struggled against the Mets in 12 career starts, where he has a 5.00 ERA. Earlier this season, he pitched six innings, allowing ten hits but just two runs against the Mets.
Matchups To Look For
Zach Eflin vs. Michael Conforto: 10-for-29 (.345), 2 Doubles, 3 Home Runs, Walk, 5 Strikeouts
Jacob deGrom vs. J.T. Realmuto: 4-for-27 (.148), Double, 10 Strikeouts
New York Mets’ starter Jacob deGrom has had to battle all kinds of physical ailments this year. First, it was a right lat issue that sent him to the 10-day injured list. A elbow/flexor scare took place this month, and in his next start, he had some right shoulder tightness.
It almost looks like the Mets are taking a chance every time they send him to the mound. It’s understandable, though, as the team still doesn’t have such a large lead in the NL East and they played their strongest threat in the division, the Atlanta Braves, on Monday.
Thankfully, deGrom was able to pitch a gem and make it through the outing in one piece, with no injuries to report. He pitched the first half of a doubleheader in what ended up being a Mets’ 4-2 victory.
Five additional shutout innings for the Mets’ star
The 33-year-old right-hander and two-time Cy Young award winner hurled five shutout innings and lowered his ERA to 0.50 in what is shaping up to be a historic season. The pitcher has an ongoing scoreless streak of 30 frames, and had his 12th straight start with one or zero earned runs allowed.
We are running out of adjectives to describe deGrom’s performance in 2021. Consistency has been his middle name.
“That’s kind of the goal,” he told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “I have a set routine that I stay with and try to stay consistent in between and take it out on the field. It’s a pretty boring answer, but honestly that’s how I take the mound — it’s one pitch at a time, and once the ball leaves your hand, it’s out of your control.”
With the right lat tightness, right flexor tendinitis and right shoulder soreness in mind, Mets’ manager Luis Rojas removed deGrom after 70 pitches.
More important is the fact that there are no injuries to report, and the Mets can finally have some peace of mind while writing down deGrom’s name for his next start.
Today the New York Yankees will open a 3 game series with the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. On the mound for the Yankees will be Gerrit Cole, the to-date poster boy for the use of sticky substances while the pitcher gets a better grip on the ball. Yesterday MLB started checking pitchers for such substances in earnest. Pitchers around the league were randomly checked. The video below shows the New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom being checked between innings. The checks apparently will not interrupt the game or delay the game as they will be done between innings or as the pitcher leaves the mound.
Just like in the steroid era, this new situation is being called the “sticky” era, and New York Yankee pitcher Gerrit Cole is in the middle of it after being named in a lawsuit for using substances and be called out by Josh Donaldson of the Minnesota Twins. Today at the Stadium, Cole will face the Royal’s Brady Singer, a right-hander 3-5 with an ERA of 4.76. You can be sure both pitchers will be checked at some point during the game. Below is more detail on the push to get foreign substances out of the game and Cole’s involvement.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports, “Major League Baseball is expected to announce today (June 14th) that it will suspend players caught with any foreign substance for 10 days with pay to help curtail the widespread use of grip enhancers by pitchers around the league.”
“The league is expected to distribute a memo to teams … that outlines its plans to penalize all players caught by umpires with any foreign substance on their person, from the widely used sunscreen-and-rosin combination to Spider Tack, an industrial glue that has become a favorite among pitchers who want to generate more spin on the ball.”
According to Passan, the ban “will begin in earnest June 21.” There is a reason that Cole could become a poster boy for the crackdown as he has been named yet again regarding using sticky substances to improve his pitching. This time by Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson.
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is one of several star pitchers named in a lawsuit for using illegal ball-doctoring substances provided by a former visiting Angels clubhouse manager, per an article in Sports Illustrated.
Brain “Bubba” Harkins was fired in March of 2020 by the Los Angeles Angels after an investigation stated that he had been helping pitchers with the use of illegal ball-gripping substances. In January of this year, he filed a lawsuit against MLB and the Angels. The filing follows an attempt by the Angels and MLB to dismiss Harkins’ previous motion claiming defamation.
Harkins named multiple pitchers in his lawsuit that apparently used his “concoctions” to increase the ability to improve grip on the baseball when pitching. Among those mentioned were Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, Max Scherzer, and the Yankee’s Corey Kluber and Gerrit Cole. In addition, several Angels pitchers were also named.
Before the first game of the (June 8) Minnesota series at Target Field, the normally outspoken Josh Donaldson was having a public conversation on the use of illegal substances and went out of his way to single out Gerrit Cole. When the New York Yankees arrived at Target Field, there was a video conference about the 3 game set with the Yankees. Gerrit Cole responding to reporter questions as to if he ever used Spider Tack (a particularly sticky paste to improve grip), Cole stumbled in answering. This is how he responded:
“I don’t know….. I don’t know….. I don’t quite know how to answer that, to be honest.” That was followed by a long pause and he continued: “There are customs and practices that have been passed down from older players to younger players, from the last generation of players to this generation of players, and I think there are some things that are certainly out of bounds in that regard.
“This is important to a lot of people who love the game, including the players in this room, including fans, including teams, so if MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that’s a conversation that we can have. Because ultimately we should all be pulling in the same direction on this.”
After those comments, New York Yankees fans don’t know any more than they did before the comments. It is reasonable to assume that Cole, like many other pitchers, uses some substances at times to improve their pitching. Whether those substances are legal or not is a discussion to have with MLB.
Last weekend, Buster Olney of ESPN reported that pitchers would be checked repeatedly and randomly by umpires for illegal substances under a new program being advanced by MLB.
In third baseman Donaldson’s wandering comments in which he mentioned Cole, he stated that Cole’s spin rate reduced dramatically after four minor league pitchers were suspended for using foreign substances. Donaldson suggested that Cole’s pitches weren’t rotating as much and that Cole was suddenly trying to hide his use of sticky substances to avoid being caught in the crackdown.
Sidestepping the accusation on Tuesday, and said: “My spin rate dropoff was due to mechanical flaws. I attribute it to just not being as good or as sharp as I wanted to be. It’s as simple as that,” Cole said. The Baseball Savant website stated the MLB Statcast data showed that Cole had a 125 rotations per minute decrease last week when he allowed five runs to the Tampa Bay Rays.
“I’m just not quite bringing out my best delivery. Of course it’s something that we monitor. Of course there are other variables that we monitor as well when we’re evaluating our performance from every game. You try to take as much information as you can as a player, and certainly that’s one of them,” Cole said. “We’re trying to get better this week and put in the work, and I’ll be as prepared as I possibly can for my next start.”
Cole had nothing to say about Donaldson, but he let his pitching speak for itself. One would have to believe Cole, with the accusations, certainly would not have been using anything illegal. In three plate appearances against Cole, Donaldson flew out and struck out twice, with Cole glaring in at him with each strikeout.
In a recent Sports Illustrated article, they explained over the past two or three years, pitchers’ illegal application to the ball of what they call “sticky stuff”—at first a mixture of sunscreen and rosin, now various forms of glue—has become so pervasive that one recently retired hurler estimates “80 to 90%” of pitchers are using it in some capacity. The sticky stuff helps increase spin on pitches, which increases their movement, making them more difficult to hit. That’s contributed to an offensive crisis that has seen the league-wide batting average plummet to a historically inept .236. (Sports Illustrated spoke with more than two dozen people; most of them requested anonymity to discuss cheating within their own organizations.)
Jacob deGrom showed he was just fine in the New York Mets 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. The Mets ace battled shoulder soreness in his previous start and showed no ill effects as he lit up the radar gun once again. The victory put the Mets six games ahead of the Braves as they head into game two of their doubleheader.
deGrom had everything working for him in five shutout innings and striking out six. He should have allowed no hits but miscommunication between Dominic Smith and Albert Almora Jr. in the outfield resulted in a ground-rule double. deGrom became the first pitcher to undergo an on-field “foreign substance” investigation for MLB’s new initiative. The Mets kept deGrom to just 70 pitches as they continue to treat him as carefully as possible.
Find Ways To Score
The Mets’ offense was lackluster against Braves starter Kyle Muller, who made his first big league start. They played small ball early in the first inning by bunting Jonathan Villar to second on a walk, moving him to third on a flyball, and scoring him on a wild pitch. Muller ended up pitching four solid innings, holding the Mets to a hit and the one run. Smith took care of the final three runs with his double in the bottom of the fifth.
Seth Lugo had the opportunity to complete a six-out save but did not look sharp in his one inning of work. Lugo allowed a two-run home run to Ozzie Albies and was bailed out by instant replay, which turned a Ronald Acuna Jr. hit by a pitch into a strikeout. Edwin Diaz stepped in to get the final three outs of the game and secure his 15th save of the season.
Ian Anderson takes the mound in game two for the Braves against a pitcher to be determined for the Mets. The first pitch from Citi Field should be thrown around 8:15 p.m. ET.
After a disappointing weekend in Washington D.C., the New York Mets return home for a crucial series against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are five games behind the Mets, and the teams play four games in three days. Monday begins with a twi-night doubleheader, and game one begins at 5:10 p.m. ET from Citi Field.
Good morning.
The Mets have a four game lead in the NL East with Jacob deGrom scheduled to pitch in one of tonight's games, while Jeff McNeil is expected to return from the IL.pic.twitter.com/0shFdx9Hdc
The Mets struggling offense will get a massive boost as Jeff McNeil will return off the IL. McNeil has not played since May 16, when he injured his hamstring during the series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Before the injury, McNeil was only hitting .242 with three home runs and eight runs batted in. The offense needs the help as they have scored just nine runs in the last five games.
The Braves come off a big series win against the St. Louis Cardinals where they took three out of four games. They have severely underachieved but are still just five games out of first place. Ronald Acuna Jr. is putting up MVP again after a rough month of May. In June, Acuna is hitting .311/.463/.574 and has stolen nine bases as he pushes towards a 40/40 season.
Pitching Matchups
Game One:
Jacob deGrom returns to the mound after leaving his last start with shoulder sorness. In the start against the Chicago Cubs, deGrom faced eight batters and struck out eight of them to lower his ERA to 0.54 on the season. Luckily for the Mets, deGrom’s injury showed no damage which allows him to return to the mound on regular rest.
Kyle Muller makes the first start of his big league career after making one relief outing. The bullpen cameo did not go well as Muller allowed four hits and two runs to the Boston Red Sox. Mullet is just 23 and has a 3.17 ERA during his minor league career.
Game Two:
The Mets have not listed a starter for the second game as they have no idea how game one will play out. Jerad Eickhoff is with the team and is likely to pitch game two if all goes well for deGrom. If Eickhoff has to pitch in game one, the second one will likely be a bullpen game.
Ian Anderson is the definite starter for the Braves and is putting together a solid rookie campaign. Yes, despite getting rookie of the year votes in 2020, Anderson is still in his rookie season. Anderson went over the 50 inning threshold this season and has been a reliable piece of the Braves rotation. After having a 2.82 ERA through nine starts, Anderson has struggled slightly to put up a 5.59 ERA in his last four outings.
Matchups To Lookout For
Jacob deGrom vs. Freddie Freeman: 15-for-58 (.259), 2 Doubles, 3 Home Runs, 8 Walks, 16 Strikeouts
Jacob deGrom vs. Ronald Acuna Jr.: 8-for-25 (.320), Double, 2 Walks, 7 Strikeouts
Jacob deGrom vs. Ozzie Albies: 5-for-37 (.135), Double, Walk, 9 Strikeouts
Near the end of spring training, Zac Gallen suffered a hairline stress fracture at the radial head of his right (pitching) arm, and was sidelined for weeks. At the dawn of the campaign, Max Fried injured a hamstring while running the bases and was sent to the injured list. What does this have to do with the New York Mets and Jacob deGrom?
The Mets’ ace believes he suffered his latest injury, shoulder tightness, while hitting, on a swing. Most of us were confused, seeing him shake his arm after a pitch to Eric Sogard in the third inning of his last start, on Wednesday, but the pitcher himself thinks he got hurt whiffing on a Robert Stock fastball in the second frame.
He underwent an MRI on Thursday that showed nothing of concern, and he is already throwing and in line to start next week. According to MLB.com, the soreness is not uncommon for him, the only difference being that he felt it during a start and not after.
“I feel like if it’s anything serious, you can’t touch it [without pain],” deGrom told the Mets’ official site. “It normally gets sore there after I pitch, but not normally during a game. … [To feel it] midgame and then have it not go away, it’s not a normal time to get it. The first two innings, I felt completely fine. I think when I swung and missed up and away, I just aggravated it trying to slow the bat down and then I felt it when I was throwing.”
The Mets will go ahead and keep him in line to start
The Mets, seeing there is nothing too concerning about the situation, are keeping him under his normal in-between starts routine. He has the blessing of the team doctor and a third party to keep pitching.
The Mets’ ace played catch on Thursday and had a 10-pitch bullpen session on Friday. He will take the ball on Monday if all goes well. Manager Luis Rojas said the team is “approaching this day by day”.
The fact that deGrom hurt himself hitting should serve as a reminder that pitchers shouldn’t be batting at this point.
The New York Mets got their third straight victory over the Chicago Cubs, but it came with another Jacob deGrom injury scare. deGrom left his start after just three innings with shoulder soreness, but the bullpen stepped up to finish off the rest of the game and secure the win. Ironically, the Mets gave deGrom plenty of run support in the 6-3 victory.
deGrom pitched three perfect innings with eight strikeouts, including his final pitch at 100 mph. Unfortunately, shoulder soreness became the fourth ailment of his season. It is the second consecutive start where deGrom left with an arm issue and sparked the question of whether he needs time off. The Mets cannot keep having him throw shortened starts or continue to pitch without being at 100%. They will need deGrom healthy if they want any shot at winning a World Series.
Hot Offense
The Mets only had five hits but made sure they all counted. Kevin Pillar led the way with a solo home run and an RBI double, and Dominic Smith also homered for the second time in the series. Before he left the game, deGrom also added another RBI single to drive his average up to .423. They also got away with another lackluster night with runners in scoring position, going 1-for-9.
The Mets bullpen cruised through the game, allowing just one run until the ninth inning. Drew Smith allowed a two-run homer in the ninth, which led to Edwin Diaz coming in to complete a one-out save. The Cubs’ offense relied on the home run as it accounted for all three runs, and it has gotten them all their runs in the series. They also struck out at least ten times for the second straight game.
The Mets aim for a sweep of the Cubs as two sinker specialists take the mound for the final game of the series. Kyle Hendricks faces Marcus Stroman for a final 7:10 p.m. start from Citi Field.
