None of them can even be considered in the same galaxy as Jacob deGrom’s 2018 season.

This wasn’t just one of those seasons that Mets fans will remember in a few years and look back on fondly like we do with Harvey and Syndergaard. This is one of those seasons that baseball fans everywhere will still be talking about in 25 years. This is peak Doc Gooden territory. Hell, Ron Darling, who pitched in the same rotation as Gooden, said deGrom’s year was the best pitching season he’s ever seen.

There has been a parade of stats thrown around about deGrom’s season and how historic it has been. For me, though, one stat in particular tells the story of Jake’s season quite well. FIP, for what it’s worth, is far from an all-encompassing stat. It is flawed, and is very far from being any sort of end-all be-all indicator of anything. That said, I think it provides a great context for what we just witnessed:

deGrom finished the season with a FIP of 1.98. Since 2000, only two other qualified starting pitchers have finished with a FIP below 2.00, and both of their names are Clayton Kershaw. Only one of Kershaw’s seasons was better than 1.98.

Going back even further to when they lowered the mound in 1969, deGrom’s FIP this season is outdone by only four other pitchers:

1999 Pedro Martinez (1.39)
1984 Dwight Gooden (1.69)
2014 Clayton Kershaw (1.81)
1971 Tom Seaver (1.93)

Yes, he was that good.

As far as league-adjusted FIP goes, well, deGrom’s FIP- going into last night’s game was 50, and it dropped to 49. That means deGrom’s FIP- this season is bested only by guys named Pedro and Randy since 1969.

This was truly one of the best pitching seasons any of us will probably ever see. There may never be another one like it.

And last night, deGrom capped it all off with one of the most poetic, poignant, storybook endings anyone could have hoped for in this lost season. Commanding his mound, deGrom fired eight shutout innings, racking up 10 strikeouts while allowing no walks and two hits in front of a sparse-but-raucous home crowd.

deGrom looked at least quasi-human in the first two innings, allowing leadoff hits in both of them. But after the leadoff single in the second, deGrom grabbed ahold of this game and took ownership of it. He retired the last 20 batters he faced in order. Half of those batters were retired on strikeouts. The only time a runner secured first base against him after the second inning was when Ronald Acuña reached first on a dropped third strike, but was then tagged out after rounding first. That’s it.

As far as deGrom’s run support goes, he predictably didn’t get much, but he got enough this time. The game was scoreless until the sixth inning, when the Mets finally broke through for their “Ace of Aces.” Dom Smith punched an RBI single up the middle to get the Mets on the board. After deGrom had left the game in the eighth, they added some insurance. Michael Conforto hit a solo shot all the way to to Ike Davis territory on the Shea Bridge to make it 2-0, and then Smith added a solo homer of his own to extend the lead to 3-0.

Before deGrom left, though, his final two innings were particularly electrifying, as everyone in the ballpark sensed that he was nearing the completion of his masterpiece campaign. This was possibly the most exciting any Mets game has been all season. The fans in the ballpark grasped the moment, those at home felt it and of course Gary Cohen could sense it as well.  Words can’t really describe how captivating this night became, so I’ll leave it to the video:

1⃣,0⃣0⃣0⃣ career strikeouts for @JdeGrom19. The fastest #Mets pitcher to get there.

News flash: This guy's good. pic.twitter.com/NeeMHtbdOe

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 27, 2018

deGrom struck out 1,000th batter of his career to cap off his legendary season. He walked off the mound to a rousing ovation, smiling and proud, with a palpable sense of accomplishment. He was met in the dugout by a giddy Captain, and the two shared embrace that has already been immortalized and will live forever.

Back in July, I wrote this:

“..whenever deGrom starts next…don’t think about the trade rumors. Don’t think about how bad the team is. If that means you have to stay off social media, then so be it. But just sit down and watch one of the best pitchers in the world on the top of his game, mastering his craft. And just enjoy it. You’ll be so much happier.”

I hope you enjoyed it. And I hope it made you happy.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

David Wright said he’d “love” to be a part of the front office next year.

WHAT’S NEXT

The series finale between the Mets and Braves takes place tonight at 7:10. Jason Vargas does battle against Juilo Teheran.

Photo credit: Brad Penner – USA TODAY Sports

The Mets actually put a run on the board in the top of the first before their ace even took the mound. Amed Rosario led off the ballgame with a double and later scored on Jay Bruce hit, giving the road team the early 1-0 lead. After mowing the Nationals down 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts in the first, deGrom did run into a little bit of a speed bump in the second, however.

After uncharacteristically walking Anthony Rendon to begin the frame, deGrom allowed a single to Washington rookie sensation Juan Soto, placing men on the corners with no out. Ryan Zimmerman then lifted a fly ball to center field to score the tying run via a sac fly.

New York responded right away the next inning though, which was really nice to see. With one out, Michael Conforto and Bruce doubled consecutively to reestablish the Mets lead, but they were far from done in the frame. Dom Smith singled home Bruce with a third run, and after Rendon committed an error on a Todd Frazier ground ball, the inning was prolonged for Devin Mesoraco. The Mets catcher, playing in his first game in almost three weeks, pounded a double to plate Smith, and while Frazier was waved home, he was gunned down the end the inning, with the Mets up 4-1.

That would prove to be all deGrom would need as he simply took it to another level after that. The right-hander retired 15 of the next 17 Nationals batters, completing his seven-inning outing with eight strikeouts and just three hits allowed. At only 98 pitches, it was somewhat surprising New York didn’t send him back out for the eighth, instead summoning Seth Lugo for a consecutive day. While the righty did allow a pair of Washington baserunners he was ultimately able to navigate through the inning unscathed, and when the Mets failed to add an insurance run in the ninth, it was Robert Gsellman time.

The final inning was a little nerve-wrecking for the visitors dugout, when Trea Turner led off with a double, and Bryce Harper nearly got the home team within one on a long fly ball to the opposite field that ultimately fell a couple feet short of the fence and into the waiting glove of Conforto. The Mets were not out of the woods though, as Rendon came up next and promptly singled into center, scoring Turner and getting the tying run to the plate. Gsellman stepped up though, striking out Soto and getting Zimmerman to fly out to end the game.

The victory evened deGrom’s record on the season at 9-9 and lowered his Major League best ERA to 1.77. If the Cy Young race isn’t over, it honestly probably should be.

Up next New York will send Corey Oswalt to the bump opposite Tanner Roark as they look to take a thirrd consecutive contest from their rivals in the nation’s capital.

The Mets are already eliminated from postseason contention. The Phillies are mathematically still in it but realistically out of the race. For this game, the most important thing for the Mets would be getting to Aaron Nola, so that they can actually help Jacob deGrom’s Cy Young resume in a roundabout way. Steven Matz would lead that effort, coming off a solid start against Miami and looking to close out a solid, albeit unspectacular, season strong.

Game Recap

Matz was very clearly off in this game from the get-go. In the first, he walked three Phillies, consistently missing off the plate inside to righties. Despite walking the bases loaded, Matz worked out of the jam without allowing a run. He gave up a single and another walk in the second, but worked around that jam too. Still, with Matz seemingly off his game and one of the best pitchers in baseball on the mound for the Phillies, things weren’t looking good.

That is, until Matz came to the plate with one out in the top of the third. After homering in his last start, Matz set his sights on Aaron Nola, got a hanging curveball over the plate and lined it into the flowers on top of the left field wall. It was a significant home run for multiple reasons (see below), but most importantly, the Mets had a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, they’d stretch the lead to 2-0. After Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier struck out swinging to start the inning, a single from Brandon Nimmo and a weakly hit, poorly played (by Rhys Hoskins in left field) double led to another run. In two innings, the Mets had built a lead and seriously damaged the Cy Young candidacy of one of deGrom’s biggest opponents — giving up a home run to a pitcher is bad enough, and anyone who allows an extra-base hit to Dom Smith (.219/.252/.321, 2.5% BB, 32.8% K) should be immediately disqualified.

Handed a two-run lead, Matz settled in. He started hitting his spots a bit more, working around a single in the third and setting down the Phillies in order in the fourth. Unfortunately, his pitch count was elevated from his early-inning command problems, and the fifth inning looked like it was probably his last. That issue was compounded by a one out walk to Hoskins. Undeterred, Matz capped his outing in spectacular fashion, making what might be the web-gem of the year to catch a ball behind his back and turn an inning-ending double play. He departed after five innings in line for the win.

The 2018 Mets team being what it is — that is to say, bad — Matz wouldn’t get the win. After the Mets left the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, Jerry Blevins and Drew Smith managed to give up five runs without recording an out in the bottom half of the inning. The Mets found themselves in a three-run hole 18 pitches after they had a two-run lead.

Watching the rest of the game as very much an exercise in futility. The Mets managed only one more run, while a cavalcade of unremarkable relievers worked around a couple Philly baserunners to keep things close enough to be interesting but not actually matter. Amed Rosario ended things with a weak bounce out to first, and the Mets had their 81st loss of the year.

Thoughts from the Game

Here are some fun facts about Steven Matz’s home run:

• He dedicated it to Jacob deGrom in his Cy Young battle
• Matz became only the third Met pitcher to homer in back-to-back starts, joining Tom Seaver and Ron Darling.
• This was the first time the Mets have lost a game in which their starting pitcher went deep since 7/24/96, when Jason Isringhausen went deep and lost, breaking a 19-game winning streak.

Other than that, I don’t have much to say about this game. Much like you, most of us have checked out at this point of the year. I spent most of this game doing work stuff and making babka (chocolate, because Jerry could not be more wrong about cinnamon in this context). Out of the three activities, only the babka wasn’t a total disaster. Then again, hitting 1-for-3 puts me in the hall of fame, so I can’t really complain.

Other Met News

The Mets are leaning towards shutting Zack Wheeler down for the rest of the season. Wheeler has been brilliant for much of this season after a slow start, and he’s now tossed 182.1 innings with a 3.31 ERA.It’s tough to describe how big an improvement that is for the former top prospect, who missed two whole season with Tommy John before tossing only 86.1 innings last season. With some struggles in his past two starts, shutting Wheeler down now makes sense, as he’s fully established his place in the Mets rotation for 2019.

The AL East-leading Red Sox were the latest team to take advantage of an inefficient Oswalt, who recorded just five outs despite throwing 61 pitches on the afternoon. Trouble found the 25-year-old immediately, as he hit Mookie Betts to lead off the game. It struck again during the very next at-bat, though Dom Smith’s throwing error was no fault of Oswalt. Betts came around to score on a Xander Bogaerts single to center two batters later, the only run charged to Oswalt, who wasn’t a factor in the decision.

Mets skipper Mickey Callaway turned to Daniel Zamora to secure the final out of the third inning against the left-handed hitting Jackie Bradley Jr., who struck out swinging. Zamora struck out the side in the fourth in what was clearly his best outing as a major leaguer thus far. He’s a prime candidate to replace Jerry Blevins as the LOOGY in the 2019 bullpen, althought that says more about the Mets than it does about Zamora.

Brandon Nimmo did Brandon Nimmo things, launching a three-run home run off Rick Porcello in the fourth, which was good for one of the Mets two hits on the day. It’s perplexing to even try and begin to construe why the Mets — I’m looking at you, Mickey Callaway — continue to bat Nimmo in the bottom of the order. There isn’t a single good reason he’s stuck behind Jay Bruce or Todd Frazier every night. Nimmo’s AVG (.267) and OBP (.392) are tops on the Metropolitans, and his 17 home runs and nine stolen bases rank him second. Please, please stop batting him sixth.

It seemed as if the Mets had things under control until mop-up man Paul Sewald entered in the home half of the fifth. The Red Sox pieced together a two-out rally to tie things at three via a Bradley Jr. two-RBI double. That would be the end of Sewald’s night but the damage wasn’t done, as Drew Smith entered and allowed another two-RBI double, this time to pinch-hitter Brock Holt. Sewald was charged with all four earned runs, raising his season ERA to 6.15 in 42 appearances. He was also charged with the loss, his sixth of the season, as neither team scored again in the ballgame.

I’d be remiss not to mention Jeff McNeil’s spectacular diving catch to rob J.D Martinez of a base hit in the sixth inning. McNeil’s finally getting an opportunity to show everyone what he’s truly capable of and let me tell you, it’s a beautiful thing to watch. That’s Jeff McNeil, 2019 starting second baseman to you, folks.

The record books are not exactly stacked with success stories of first basemen who put up a sub-.700 OPS across their first 282 plate appearances and the smart money is not on Smith exploding into a star, or even an average regular. But recently, Smith has made a strong argument that he’s worth a shot in an otherwise lost season for the Mets.

After being demoted in July with a .183/.216/.324 slash line, there were serious doubts that Smith would be back this season at all, let alone see any meaningful playing time. Sure enough, he received only scattered opportunities upon returning in August, but he quietly produced with the limited plate appearances he received and has suddenly found himself starting nearly every game for the past two weeks. And he has taken that chance and run with it.

Since his promotion at the end of August, Smith has put up a .333/.360/.833 line with six extra-base hits across 10 games heading into Thursday’s doubleheader. He’s also demonstrating, for the first time as a major leaguer, the smooth, natural fielding capability he showed in the minors. Simply put, he looks comfortable and confident and the numbers bear it out. He’s making extremely hard contact and while his strikeout rate is up, his profile would benefit from that trade off if it brings the kind of power he’s showing right now.

That’s not to say he is a 1.193 OPS player for the long term, or even that he’s out of the woods — or anywhere close. They may be 25 impressive plate appearances, but it’s still just 25 plate appearances and Smith has a long way to go before overcoming the poor projections warranted by the brutal start to his career.

For better or worse, though, the Mets have nothing to lose by putting Smith out there every day until the end of the season, but everything to gain. He’s not blocking anyone or hurting the team’s playoff odds. Jay Bruce will have ample playing time in the outfield, both this year and next (presuming the Mets can end their mystifying love affair with Austin Jackson), and doesn’t need to prove himself with extra reps at first base. Alonso would have been a perfectly justified choice to fill that spot down the stretch, but that ship has sailed and he will (editor’s note: hopefully) have his chance next season.

Smith may not ultimately be A Guy, but right now, he’s looking an awful lot like one and the Mets have to do whatever they can to keep him in there to find out what he has. Whether his future is as trade bait or a shot at a job with the Mets next year, this kind of consistent playing time is his only chance, however slim, at regaining the value he had just one year ago.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

New York actually got off to a nice start in this one, as Steven Matz breezed through the first two innings with little difficulty, and Jay Bruce deposited Nola’s first offering of the home second into the bullpen to give the Amazins the early lead.

Philadelphia responded quickly in the next inning, however, as  two batters after Matz issued a leadoff walk to Jorge Alfaro, Carlos Santana crushed a long homer to left center to flip the game and give the Phillies a 2-1 edge. New York got it right back in the bottom of the frame though, when Jeff McNeil plated Brandon Nimmo with a double.

The 2-2 score held through the middle innings, and a high pitch count forced Matz to depart after only five innings. Eric Hanhold entered for the Mets in the sixth and was greeted rudely by pinch-hitter Odubel Herrera who led off with a double. Two batters later, former Met Asdrubal Cabrera gave the road team the lead with a run-scoring single, but the Mets again responded an inning later when first baseman Dom Smith crushed a game-tying opposite field long ball.

The Mets summoned Tyler Bashlor in the seventh and the hard-thrower tossed a 1-2-3 inning prior to Smith’s tying home run, but the righty was not as fortunate in the eighth, when Rhys Hoskins crushed a lead-off bomb that would prove to be the difference in a 4-3 victory for Philadelphia.

Up next, New York will send Noah Syndergaard to the bump in search of his 11th win, opposing Phillies’ righty Zach Eflin.

Photo credit: Gregory Fisher – USA Today Sports

McNeil’s two hits last night were in his first two at-bats of the game, which extended his consecutive hits streak to eight straight plate appearances, which was only one shy of a franchise record.

And yes, it’s probably not fair to go crazy over McNeil so early in his career; perspective is necessary here, too. But at this point, he is the biggest talking point on the team — at least on the days when Jacob deGrom doesn’t pitch. You never want to do the rest of the team a disservice by understating their contributions to the game as well, but McNeil looking like an actual star right now is probably the most important non-deGrom thing going on with the Mets, so it deserves to be highlighted and discussed as such.

And sure, Dom Smith homered last night too, and that’s cool! But everyone knows he almost certainly has no future on the team at this point. In fact, with Jay Bruce set to come off the DL as soon as this weekend, Smith’s roster spot may not even last the week. Todd Frazier homered and doubled in a run as well, which is also cool, but he’s probably locked into third base going into next year no matter what and him raising his season wRC+ from 94 to 98 isn’t particularly notable. He is what he is.

And Noah Syndergaard also is what he is, and that’s what he has been for a while: A very good, top-end pitcher with wipeout stuff, who is seemingly only ever undone by his defense and his own inability to hold runners. Last night, though, was more about the defense than anything else. Syndergard tossed six very solid innings while striking out six and walking only one. His velocity was back to around 100 mph and his sinker was looking very good. He allowed two runs, both of which came in the third inning, and both of which probably could have been avoided with better defense. He yielded two singles to start the frame, which then allowed the pitcher to bunt them over. The next hitter, Steven Duggar, hit a sharp ground ball to third, and the runner broke from third. There was a clear play at the plate, but Frazier couldn’t get the ball out of his glove. So he went to first, and the run scored. Then a seeing-eye single by the next hitter bounced just past a diving McNeil and scored another run. McNeil isn’t exactly known for his range, so you’d be inclined to think a plus defensive second baseman would get to that ball.

And that’s the story of Noah Syndergaard. His 3.38 ERA on the year is fine, but that’s it; just fine. It always feels like he should pitch better than he actually does. And it’s not just because of his stuff, but because it feels like all of the BABIP luck goes against him (his .340 BABIP backs up that feeling). It’s truly an odd thing.

In the end, the Mets won the game last night, 5-3. Paul Sewald got the save. The Mets now have a winning record (24-23) since the beginning of July, which pretty much serves as a reminder that there was the framework for a decent team this year; the pieces were there. But when you give 600 plate appearances to Jay Bruce, Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Reyes in the Year of Our Lord 2018, this is what happens. And given that the NL East is not exactly a dogfight right now, this was a team that could have easily competed for the division if it was correctly built and properly utilized.

Oh well.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Mets finish off this series with the Giants with a getaway day matinee this afternoon. Jacob deGrom and Madison Bumgarner face off in what should be a great pitcher’s duel at 1:10 p.m.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

The Mets! Another series! Rejoice!

WHAT HAPPENED, VARGY DOES HIS THING:

It’s no secret that Jason “Vargy” Vargas has faced his share of struggles. Entering Sunday as one of the worst starters of the year, the lefty managed to look just good enough to hold the Phillies for five innings. Sure, the only NL teams below the Phillies in OPS against left-handed pitchers are the Mets and Marlins, but for five innings, Vargas looked like he might actually be fine. After all, five innings of scoreless baseball isn’t a small feat.

Yes, balls were hit hard. The clock struck midnight when we entered the sixth frame, but it was a fine start overall. Vargas has now allowed just four earned runs in his last 11.1 inning, striking out just as many over that span. He isn’t blowing guys away, but his change-up worked for him  last night and, more importantly, so did the gloves of his defenders.

Of course, we’re past the point of convincing, but it leads one to believe that Vargas might have something left to give. Some area left where he can succeed. Surely, it’s not against righties. Oh God no. He’s one of the worst in the league there. And, well, he’s not great against lefties either. Not as a taker of meaningful innings, that’s for sure. Maybe it’s somewhere more remote. Against offenses that don’t hit lefties well. Or, generally, well at all. Maybe it is on Sundays, when The Lord has commanded opposing hitters to rest. Somewhere around this area seems to make the most sense.

WHAT HAPPENED, THE METS MAKE AN ALBUM:

At the plate, the Mets had a very unique outburst. You look at the linescore, and one thing sticks out. The Mets scored a ton of runs (8) on a ton of hits (14). When you look at the boxscore, it looks even better. Jeff “JT” McNeil, Jose “JoeyBats” Bautista and Kevin “Plaw Dawg” Plawecki recorded two hits apiece, Amed “El Niño” Rosario recorded three. That’s a lot of hits, but here is the kicker: they were all singles. Only one (1) of the Mets’ 14 hits on Sunday netted extra-bases — a pinch-hit, RBI double from Dominic Smith in the eighth inning.

It’s certainly one of the wilder things I’ve ever seen, and was most apparent in how the Mets got to Nick Pivetta early on. In the top of the second inning, the Mets put up four runs on five singles. Singles to left, center, right. The Mets were hitting the ball everywhere, and everywhere it was earning the Mets exactly one base. It was an effective tactic, as it bounced Pivetta in the fourth inning after throwing 79 pitches. It wasn’t your usual outburst, but it was an outburst nonetheless. It only left one question to be answered: will the Mets go platinum with this album?

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

Vargas and the pen finished strong against the Phillies. The lineup singled the Phillies to death. Overall, the Mets have officially spent the last two weeks…not losing? It’s a wild concept, I know, but the Mets have played better ball against mostly subpar opponents. Who knows if it will last, and I’m sure you’ve stopped caring, but it’s fine. Everything is fine.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

The Mets head back home to start a seven-game homestand, which starts with the San Francisco Giants. Derek Holland with face the scorching-hot Zack Wheeler, who owns a 1.41 ERA over the last month. It’ll be interesting to see if the Mets can keep up their improved play to wrap up the month of August, despite the competition getting a little tougher.

Photo credit: Bill Streicher – USA Today Sports

THE GOOD

Steven Matz is healthy and pitching incredibly well this season. He’s always put up good results when he starts, but the problem with Matz has been the when he starts. Everything’s aligned for Matz this season, outside of a couple of minor issues, and he may return real value in a potential trade. The lefty turned in a quality start Saturday but wasn’t on his A-game, walking three in addition to allowing five hits. He went out and gave the Mets a chance to win, something he’s actually done a lot of this season.

Wilmer Flores picked up three of the Mets seven hits on the afternoon. A perennial fan favorite, Flores’ days may be numbered with the Metropolitans, for real this time; he’s a prime trade candidate as a platoon option against left-handed pitching, and he likely fits best with an American League team. That being said, it’s doubtful he brings back anything better than a couple of minor league relief arms.

THE BAD

Robert Gsellman’s stuff hasn’t played up as expected in the bullpen. Despite a nice start to the season, his season ERA is up to 4.44 with a WHIP of 1.32. In short, he hasn’t been nearly as good as Jeurys Familia haters would like you to believe. He’s not the only one though, as Anthony Swarzak, one of the Mets’ rare big offseason signings, has a 6.46 ERA and 1.89 WHIP in 15.1 innings. Swarzak’s been truly awful this year, and the kicker here is he’s under team control for another season.

Gsellman and Swarzak aren’t the only two Met relievers to struggle this season (Jerry Blevins, Familia, Paul Sewald and Hansel Robles all come to mind), but their performance relative to the high expectations has been disappointing.

THE UGLY

Mickey Callaway was asked about Dominic Smith prior to Saturday’s game and had this to say on the former top prospect: “If we were just going day to day, I think Dom is probably best served off the bench.” We can debate about whether the hype with Smith was warranted or not, but there’s no denying the Mets haven’t given him a fair shake at first base. First, they brought in Adrian Gonzalez this past offseason to be the strong side of a platoon with Wilmer Flores. After a couple months of subpar production, they finally parted ways with him in June, effectively clearing the way for Smith to come up and play. Except Callaway and co. handed the starting job to Flores, opting to leave Smith on the bench.

It may be an effort to enhance Flores’ trade value but seriously, who are we kidding? Front offices in this day and age are far too smart to heavily buy into a hot streak from a 26-year-old first baseman with a career OBP of .300. The Mets are 15.5 games out of first, if this isn’t the time to find out what they have in Smith, when exactly is?

The Mets have given Smith just 25 at-bats in their past 10 games and don’t appear keen on getting him into the everyday lineup. This is what lost seasons are for – finding out who’s worth keeping around and who isn’t – so it’d be nice to see Smith getting consistent playing time for the rest of the year.

Photo credit: Wendell Cruz – USA Today Sports

Jose Bautista appeared done earlier this year when the longtime Blue Jay was cut by Atlanta, but since signing with the Amazins, he’s become a surprisingly successful reclamation project. Bautista had hit 336 career home runs before Friday’s season opener with Tampa Bay, but he’d never crushed a game winning walk-off blast. He can now cross that off the bucket list.

The majority of the game went the way most of starter Jacob deGrom’s outings have gone for both him and the team. The ace righty was absolutely brilliant once again, pitching through the Rays lineup with ease all night long, but yet again he found himself unlikely to earn a win as the night progressed.

After deGrom had set down Tampa Bay in the first three frames with four strikeouts, New York got in the board in the home third thanks to a little help from the Rays defense. With one out, Brandon Nimmo hit a routine ground ball to short that Willy Adames threw away for a two base error. After Bautista drew a walk to put two on with one out, the Mets’ best trade candidate at the moment, second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, singled through the hole into left field to score Nimmo with an unearned run.

deGrom tossed an easy 1-2-3 shutdown inning in the fourth after getting the lead, and the game started to feel like so many of his starts. He’d gotten his run, and now needed to try to shut the other team out to secure a victory. That hope came to an abrupt halt with two outs in the fifth, as Adames surprisingly crushed a game-tying solo homer to straightaway center. The Mets tried to respond in the sixth, when, after they got a one-out baserunner, Todd Frazier doubled to the gap in right center. The problem was the runner was Wilmer Flores, and third base coach Glenn Sherlock foolishly flapped his left arm to send the fan favorite home. Flores was gunned down by about 30 feet, and the Mets failed to score, sending this one to the later innings deadlocked at one.

deGrom would finish his night with yet another no decision, as after eight dominant innings New York went to closer Jeurys Familia in the ninth, and trouble immediately presented itself. Familia allowed a hit, a walk and hit a batter to load the bases with one out, but a force play at home and a strikeout got him out of trouble and gave the Mets a chance to walk this one off in the bottom of the ninth.

Leading off in the home ninth, Frazier drew a walk against Rays reliever Chaz Roe, setting up a fascinating presentation of National League baseball. Catcher Devin Mesoraco, who hadn’t had a successful sacrifice bunt since 2009 in class-A ball, was up next and his first few bunt attempts showed he didn’t really know what he was doing. In a somewhat surprising strategic adjustment, manager Mickey Callaway took the bunt off, and was rewarded when Mesoraco singled into left field. Amed Rosario then dropped a perfect sac bunt down to third, and New York was really in business with pinch-hitter Dom Smith walking to the plate.

Smith though, missed the memo. The former first round pick topped the first pitch he saw back to Roe for the innings’ second out, leaving Frazier pinned to third base. The Rays then chose to intentionally walk Nimmo, a strategy that didn’t work out to say the least. Tampa wanted the righty-righty match-up with Roe against Bautista, but Bautista sent the first pitch he saw deep into the second deck for a walk-off grand slam, sending the Flushing faithful home happy.

After one of the worst months in franchise history in June, the Mets have now won three of their first four contests in July, showing at least some level of competent play for a refreshing chance of pace. They’ll look to win a series for the first time in forever this afternoon, when left handers Steven Matz and Blake Snell take the hill for their respective squads.

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray – USA Today Sports