QUEENS, N.Y.- It’s been 396 days since the two-time Cy Young Award winner stepped foot on the Citi Field mound, and he made sure not to disappoint in his return.
Before the first pitch, New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom was greeted with a roar of cheers and a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd during warmups.
Strikeouts, Hits, and History
DeGrom, in his first home start of the year, had a near-perfect game, retiring 17 batters through 5.2 innings and striking out 12 while allowing one hit and two runs.
With the help of the Mets’ offense, deGrom earned his first win of the season.
Pete Alonso’s double to left field brought home Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo for the first two runs of the game in the third inning. It wouldn’t take long for Alonso to return to the dugout as a Mark Canha double brought him home with Daniel Vogelbach for a four-run inning.
Collin McHugh’s wild pitch would allow Jeff McNeil to score to make it 5-0.
In the sixth, deGrom walked Ehrie Adrianza and allowed Dansby Swanson to hit a two-run homer to put the Atlanta Braves on the board. His near-perfect game ended with two outs left in the inning.
To add to his dominant home return, deGrom made history at Citi Field. His 10th strikeout earned him the most strikeouts ever (1,521) by a pitcher in their first 200 MLB games.
With the win, the Mets’ record stands at 70-39 at a season-high 31 games over .500.
