New York Mets starting pitching Jacob deGrom has been absolutely dominant over the last month. His recent performance has earned him a place with some of the most popular names on the mound in franchise history.
Tuesday was an important day for New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom because it was his 30th birthday. How exactly did he celebrate, you ask? Well, he got the party started early on Monday night by allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts in eight innings against the Colorado Rockies.
The big kicker, though, was the fact that the Mets actually gave their ace some run support in a 12-2 victory. There has been plenty of virtual ink spilled about how dominant deGrom has been recently, but it’s mostly been in relation to how little the offense has supported him.
This kind of performance is becoming the usual for deGrom, as it was his seventh consecutive start of throwing at least seven innings while allowing no more than two earned runs. That further etches his name alongside some pretty elite company with regard to other notable pitchers in franchise history, according to Baseball-Reference:
Last night was Jacob deGrom's 7th straight start with 7+ IP and 2 or fewer ERs, matching the longest streak of his career.
The only other #Mets pitchers since 1970 to do that 7+ times in a row are Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden https://t.co/1KJEDvDAZ6 pic.twitter.com/uDxVj7aykY
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) June 19, 2018
Anytime your on-field production can be mentioned in the same breath as Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden, you know you’re doing something right. If we go all the way back to 1962, the only other hurler that accomplished this feat was Jerry Koosman. He did it once in 1968 and again in 1969.
Since deGrom has done this for a second time, Gooden is the lone pitcher on this list that has only done it once. He made it count, though — his streak lasted 12 consecutive starts. But like most pitching feats in Mets history, Seaver rules over everyone. He’s done it the most times (four) and owns the longest streak (13, twice).
It’s getting harder to find appropriate adjectives to describe what deGrom is doing on the mound. All in all, it’s just filthy.
Entering Tuesday’s action, he’s first in ERA (1.51), fourth in SIERA (2.76), second in fWAR (3.8), fourth in strikeout rate (32.1 percent), and second in swinging-strike rate (15.7 percent).
The only detail left is for New York to actually score runs when the right-hander does this in the future, which has proven to be difficult for them.
