deGrom came out throwing in the mid to low 90s much as he has all spring training. For those Met fans concerned, it’s worth remembering that his fastball averaged 93.5 MPH in his stellar rookie of the year season when he was still a top 20 pitcher in baseball, so he can thrive even without the high 90s heat he had last season. He allowed only a single to Cesar Hernandez in the first, who was caught stealing on a perfect throw from Travis d’Arnaud. 

In the bottom of the first, vintage David Wright showed up, as he drove a fastball from Jerad Eickhoff into the right center field gap. He would be stranded at second after Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker struck out, but it’s a very positive sign to see Wright shortening his swing and driving the ball to right-center. As Keith often reminds us, that part of the field has always been Wright’s strength. 

deGrom pitched a quiet top of the second with strikeouts of Ryan Howard and Cameron Rupp before the Met offense got back to work. Michael Conforto was hit by a pitch, Asdrubal Cabrera reached on an error, and Travis d’Arnaud walked to load the bases with no outs for deGrom, who grounded out to second to score a run. Curtis Granderson and Wright couldn’t push any more runs across, so the Mets settled for a 1-0 lead going to the third. 

The game quieted down between the third and sixth innings. deGrom allowed only one hit while striking out four, while Eickhoff matched him by setting down nine of 10 Mets. In the sixth, Eickhoff led off with a double and came around to score with two outs on a single by Odubel Herrera, tying the game. The Mets snatched the lead right back, as Lucas Duda doubled to lead off the bottom of the frame and Neil Walker followed with a single. Conforto then drove a double down the right field line to give the Mets some cushion and chase Eickhoff from the game. 

The last out of the sixth was made by Wilmer Flores, pinch hitting for deGrom, who had thrown only 76 pitches amid initial speculation that he had gotten the call that his wife was going into labor. Instead, deGrom’s right lat had tightened up, and he was removed as a precaution. Hopefully the injury is nothing more than some early season, cold baseball stiffness. 

deGrom was replaced by Henderson in the top of the seventh, who delivered yet another fantastic outing with two strikeouts. In the bottom half, the Met offense went to work on the putrid Philadelphia bullpen, scoring four runs on RBI hits from Neil Walker, Conforto (notably off of lefty specialist James Russell), and Travis d’Arnaud. By the time Eric Campbell was called out on strikes, the Mets had a 7-1 lead. 

Hansel Robles came on for the eighth and showed some rust. He struck out Emmanuel Burriss to start the frame before Peter Bourjos reached on a throwing error by Wright. Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez then singles to drive in a run and chase Robles, who was replaced by Jerry Blevins. What happened next has to be one of the most pathetic displays of baseball ineptitude in recent memory. Odubel Herrera popped up a ball on the infield, and the infield fly rule was called as Wright settled under it. Wright couldn’t make the catch, however, as the wind blew the ball out towards second base. Cesar Hernandez, who was at first base, then inexplicably started running towards second, which was occupied by a stationary Freddy Galvis. Hernandez was tagged out for a double play, Jerry Blevins maintained his perfect run as a Met, and the Philly threat was ended. 

Bastardo got his first action as a Met in the ninth inning. After allowing a soft line drive single to Darin Ruf, he struck out Andres Blanco and Tyler Goeddel and induced a groundout from Cameron Rupp to end the game. Bastardo touched 93 MPH several times, a positive sign given his reduced velocity and bad results in spring training. 

The win puts the Mets at 2-1 and drops the Phillies to 0-4, their first 0-4 start since 2006. An excellent way to start the season at home for the Mets.

Photo credit: Brad Penner-USA Today Sports