Mets ace pitcher Jacob deGrom must feel like he is an echo chamber when he pitches for the Mets as in his first 2 starts he has hurled 14 innings of 1 run ball with 21 strikeouts and has an 0-1 record to show for that after today’s 3-0 loss to the Marlins.
In the immortal words of Yogi Berra it was like deja vu all over again as the offense continues to sputter on the days deGrom pitches and I asked Luis Rojas after the game about his team’s anemic offense
As far as the offense, Michael Conforto has looked lost at the plate and seems to be wound in knots when trying to get key hits or in the case of yesterday’s game faltered even when an out could plate a run. He struck out in the first inning with runners on the corners and one out. He struck out in 2 other at bats but Luis Rojas says he has no intention of moving him down in the lineup when he was asked if he thought Conforto’s contract situation is forcing him to press a bit. But I do think moving him out of the #3 spot in the lineup card might take some pressure off as it is hard for me to believe this contact issue is not affecting him in some way at the plate.
It is also hard to believe that deGrom has a 2,06 ERA since 2018 but the Mets are 6 games below .500 in the games that he started but deGrom remains classy never casting a disparaging word on the lack of support. At times, the offense has struggled in those starts and on other nights the bullpen has betrayed him. So far this year we have seen a bit of both.
Brandon Nimmo put it best when he said, “Jacob is a class act in every sense of the word and he knows we have a team here that is not selfish and he has always supported us in every way. We have to fix this because he deserves our support. In a game like today a run or 2 could have made the difference. All Jacob wants is a team win and he always gives us every chance to accomplish that.”
If this trend continues the Mets will struggle in the NL East as this division has a plethora of solid pitchers and that means the games deGrom starts must for the most part be put in the W column and right now that is simply not the case. This is the kind of scenario that could divide a team although I must say deGrom is doing all he can to not put blame on his teammates. And I firmly believe that they want to support him so much it may create angst in their hands during a key at bat.
But Luis Rojas must guide his team through these moments because a lack on confidence could haunt this offense as they have hit so poorly in the season’s first five games with the team going 0-2 in deGrom’s appearances. Marcus Stroman gets the call today and like he did the day after Opening Day it must right the ship but if the offense continues to sleepwalk, that could be a tough Sunday afternoon chore for him.