Pitcher Jacob deGrom records two hits in Mets 10-run inning

One thing good teams do is avoid extended losing streaks. Granted, five losses in a row — which amounts to one trip through the rotation — is still pretty high, but the previously red hot New York Mets were determined on Saturday night to not let it reach six games.

Very determined. And the poor Milwaukee Brewers bore the brunt of that determination to the tune of a 14-1 defeat.

As with most lopsided scores, this game was decided pretty early. In the fourth inning, New York’s scuffling offense made sure of that by exploding for 10 runs on nine hits, all while sending 15 batters to the plate. Nine of the runs were charged to Milwaukee starter Matt Garza, who overall allowed 10 runs (all earned) on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings.

During that rally, three Mets reached base twice, including two who had multiple hits. One of those two? None other than pitcher Jacob deGrom, who earlier drove in New York’s first run with another single. 

No wonder manager Terry Collins is comfortable batting deGrom higher than the customary No. 9 spot. He wa the No. 8 batter on Saturday. On the season, deGrom is now 5 for 17. Last season, he hit .217 with two doubles.

[Check out Big League Stew on Tumblr for even more baseball awesomeness.]

Somewhat surprisingly, deGrom is the fifth pitcher to record two hits in an inning since 2010. Adam Wainwright, Madison Bumgarner and Edwin Jackson are among them, as is Chris Young, who did it for the Mets in 2011. He’s also the last Mets pitcher with three hits in a game, which occurred on the same night.

Another interesting tidbit from Saturday. Wilmer Flores, whom Collins had batting ninth, hit a grand slam in the midst of that inning. According to STATS Inc. that was a little piece of history as Flores became the first starting NL position player to hit a grand slam from the No. 9 spot while playing in an NL ballpark.

It’s a bit to digest, but it’s all good for the Mets. In fact, pretty much everything was coming up Mets on Saturday, and now they’ll look to start another winning with Noah Syndergaard making his second career start on Sunday.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813