New York-The big story for the New York Mets entering tonight’s game was how starting pitcher Jacob deGrom would fare. deGrom was originally scheduled to start Monday’s series opener against the Miami Marlins, but his turn was skipped thanks to a pair of poor performances in his last two starts.
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deGrom underwent an examination on Friday, and despite no structural damage being found, the Mets are opting to err on the side of caution. This was the third straight rough outing for deGrom, who has allowed 16 runs over his last 14.2 innings and seen his ERA rise from 2.29 to 3.04.
He got seven days off before pitching Thursday night because the Mets were anxious he was worn out.
Pulled after another shaky start, deGrom was headed down the dugout tunnel toward the clubhouse when he signaled for Mets trainer Ray Ramirez to follow him. The Mets have taken the first three from the Miami Marlins in this crucial series and are red-hot, having won nine of their last 11 games.
Right-hander Jose Urena (3-5) earned the win after allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out two over six innings.
But Collins could tell something was off.
When the Mets moved on from Murphy and acquired Walker, they at least had Dilson Herrera waiting to possibly replace Walker after this year, but the team now lacks a blue-chip second base prospect after trading Herrera to the Reds.
“I wasn’t really that anxious about it”, deGrom said of the MRI, according to Newsday’s Laura Albanese. DeGrom hit a liner up the middle that Yelich, playing shallow for the pitch, rushed in to grab off the grass. Collins said after the game he was not aware of the meeting when asked about it by reporters.
Giants outfielder Hunter Pence smashed a deep two-run homer to left-center field in the first to open the scoring against the Cubs, who rallied for a 5-4 win.
The Marlins got on the board first when Christian Yelich delivered an RBI single in the third to give Miami a 1-0 lead.
Not surprisingly, a lineup that lacked Walker, Cabrera and Cespedes for most of the game produced like the Mets’ offenses of earlier months that had to fight and claw for each run.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Collins said. Marlins CF Marcell Ozuna (left wrist) did not play Thursday, a day after he was injured making a diving catch.
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OF Destin Hood was among the Marlins’ newcomers. “Like I said, it’s nothing serious”, deGrom said after the wild-card contenders lost to NL East-leading Washington 4-1 Friday night.
