Dominant Jacob deGrom sets tone for Mets pitching staff in NLDS

 

Jacob deGrom pitches a gem for the Mets in Game 1 vs. the Dodgers.

LOS ANGELES - For all the talk about the Mets' young fireballers, nobody knew how their stuff and command and poise would hold up on the post-season stage, especially given the imposing task of matching up with the Dodgers' Cy Young winners.
So in outpitching Clayton Kershaw in Game 1, Jacob deGrom not only delivered a spectacular performance but perhaps set a tone for his fellow starters and, for that matter, this entire Mets' team that is rather new to October baseball.

In a sense he sent the message: we're for real.
"For a team that hasn't been to the post-season in a long time,'' said Terry Collins, "we needed that type of confidence boost. Jake gave us a huge lift.''
It remains to be seen if Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, and perhaps Steven Matz can follow his lead, but with a 13-strikeout performance and a 3-1 win over the Dodgers, deGrom quickly put the Mets in a great position, giving them a chance to win this five-game series at home no matter what happens in Game 2.


Above all, deGrom let everyone outside of New York know that all of the talk about the Mets' pitching is more than hype. In a game where for most of the night it felt as if one mistake could be the ballgame, he didn't flinch, throwing 97-98 mph to go with good secondary stuff.
"If you love a pitcher's duel, that's about as good as it gets,'' said David Wright. "You've got Jacob deGrom, who came in maybe as a little bit of an unknown, going up against the great Clayton Kershaw, and he matched him pitch for pitch, put up zeroes.
"When you see that, you want to do everything you can to scratch out a win for him.''
Wright and Daniel Murphy took care of that. Murphy hit a solo home run in the fourth, rewarding Collins' decision to play his lefthanded hitters against Kershaw, and the deGrom held tightly to that 1-0 lead until the Mets rallied in the seventh.