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Game recap July 28: A man with many talents

It’s incredibly difficult to reach and succeed as a hitter in the big leagues. It’s also incredibly difficult to reach and succeed as a pitcher in the big leagues. That’s why you rarely, if ever, see a two-way player in baseball anymore (Shohei Ohtani is the exception).

It’s not surprising that Jacob deGrom – who’s a leading candidate for the NL Cy-Young award – was his usual terrific self on the mound Saturday evening in Pittsburgh. No, what’s surprising (but really shouldn’t be) is that Jacob deGrom also led the Mets in hits Saturday.

The All-Star right-hander wasn’t at his best but still gave the Mets a quality start and a chance to win the ballgame. deGrom allowed three runs on eight hits, walking none and striking out five. He also picked up two hits in his three at-bats, more than Amed Rosario, Brandon Nimmo, Wilmer Flores and Michael Conforto – the Mets’ first four hitters – combined for.

It’s somewhat ironic and downright laughable that deGrom simultaneously gives the Mets the best chance to win and the best chance to lose. One could argue that there simply hasn’t been a better starter in baseball than deGrom this season. But when deGrom takes the ball every fifth day, the Mets’ offense stalls out and fails to provide him with any run support.

Throwing deGrom’s personal win-loss record (5-6) out the window, it’s almost unfathomable that the Mets are below .500 when deGrom starts a baseball game. Their record now drops to a remarkable 8-12 in deGrom starts.

In other Mets pitching news, Robert Gsellman looks very… broken? He got off to a nice start in his new role in the pen, but his peripherals have finally caught up to him. After allowing two runs in the eighth, his season ERA sits at an uninspiring 4.27. This may be the real Gsellman, or it may be the result of overuse – who are we kidding, it’s definitely overuse – but Mickey Callaway needs to start trusting his other relievers. Anyway, the fact that Gsellman has more wins than deGrom tells you all you need to know about the 2018 New York Metropolitans.

The Mets will hand the ball to Zack Wheeler Sunday for what could possibly be his final start in orange and blue. The right-hander is reportedly drawing significant trade interest and the Mets are apparently listening. It’d be hard to blame them if they ultimately end up moving Wheeler considering he started the season down in Las Vegas.

Photo credit: Charles LeClaire – USA Today Sports

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