NEW YORK — If four different injuries can’t stop Jacob deGrom, and a pair of “sticky stuff” checks can’t slow him, and even a hit-that-shouldn’t-have-been-a-hit can’t derail him, then the question seems obvious: Can anything?
Five days after exiting his last start due to right shoulder soreness, deGrom returned to the mound looking very much like someone who had been fine all along. He retired the first eight batters he faced en route to a 4-2 win over the Braves in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Monday, finishing with five shutout innings overall. The only hit off deGrom came on a Kevan Smith fly ball to left-center that dropped between outfielders Dominic Smith and Albert Almora Jr., who both had a play on the ball.
deGrom wouldn’t have been in line for a no-hitter anyway, since seven-inning no-nos don’t count in Major League Baseball’s official record book. And the Mets wouldn’t likely have allowed him to go that far anyway, considering their caution with deGrom coming off injury. But it was still a noteworthy moment for the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who extended his scoreless streak to 30 innings and lowered his MLB-leading ERA to a microscopic 0.50.
The Mets struggled to support deGrom until the fifth, when Smith laced a three-run double into the right-field corner to extend their early one-run lead.
