Mets need another gem from Jacob deGrom to even World Series
The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets battled for 14 innings in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night before the Royals ultimately won 5-4.
The teams combined to use 13 pitchers in a contest that lasted more than five hours. Both teams could use strong performances from their starting pitchers in Game 2 on Wednesday to give their bullpens a chance to rest, and there is probably more pressure on Mets starter Jacob deGrom to come through in that regard, considering his team is down one game in the series and Kansas City’s bullpen has been a strength all season.
[Related: Five key moments from the Royals’ 5-4 win in World Series Game 1]
The 27-year-old has been excellent in his first postseason experience, going 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in three starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. He has pitched 20 innings in the playoffs with 27 strikeouts, but he will face a lineup he hasn’t seen before and it’s one he knows will be challenging.
“They’re going to battle you,” deGrom told reporters Tuesday. “They’re not going to strike out a lot and they’re going to put the ball in play.
“I think my job is to keep the ball down. I always say I try to go out there and get early contact, and strikeouts just seem to happen. That’s going to be my same game plan going into this.”
[Look: The Royals didn’t tell Edinson Volquez his dad died before Game 1, at his family’s request]
DeGrom said he would pay special attention to what worked and what didn’t for Game 1 starter Matt Harvey on Tuesday to help him get a feel for the Royals. He has now pitched 211 combined innings between the regular season and the playoffs and hasn’t felt fatigue even though has has had to battle his way out of some challenging situations.
Mets manager Terry Collins said he has seen some signs of fatigue in deGrom that are manifested in his command. He purposely held deGrom back for an extra day of rest allowing Harvey to start Game 1 in the hope that deGrom would have his best stuff for Game 2.
“About halfway through the season last year he learned how to change the eye level, threw four-seamers up here,” Collins said. “Now he’s at a stage where the ball doesn’t have the life down, even though he has the velocity, it doesn’t have the life it once had. He’s been missing balls up in the zone.
“For me, that is that release point, that consistent release point you have to make the pitches. If you start to get a little fatigued that hand just doesn’t catch up sometimes. That’s why we wanted to give him an extra day, because the last time we pushed him back a little bit he came out throwing great. We’re hoping that extra rest is going to make a difference tomorrow night. This guy is as good as there is in the league.”
Johnny Cueto will start for the Royals. He hasn’t been nearly as effective for Kansas City as deGrom has been for the Mets. Cueto gave up eight earned runs in just two innings in his last start against Toronto in the American League championship series.
Collins goes in feeling good about his young starter and his team’s chances of returning to New York with the series even.
“Well, you know, anytime you’re in these kind of situations, when you start on the road, you go in saying, ‘Look, we’ve got to come out of here 1-1,'” Collins said. “Now we’ve got a chance with Jake going. We’ve got to come out, give him big hits and give him something to work with.”
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
