Jacob deGrom looks to save Mets in Game 2

NEW YORK -- Jacob deGrom was the first to make legend during the 2015 postseason. He won two NL Cy Young Awards and was regarded as the most likely greatest pitcher of his time. In one of the greatest performances of his career, deGrom struck 13 out in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. Six days later, despite lacking the same dynamism, deGrom beat the Dodgers again to key New York’s run to the pennant.

This deGrom version is seven years older, more decorated, but also more fragile. Since then, he has not been back to the playoffs. He has never pitched in a postseason game at Citi Field.

The Mets will be desperate to see deGrom return to the brilliance that he showed in 2015 when he won the Wild Card Series Game 2 game.

Without it, their season is over.

“This is what you want,” first baseman Pete Alonso said. “Jacob deGrom in the playoffs.”

DeGrom realized he would be pitching Saturday only after Friday's Game 1 was over, a 7-1 loss for the Mets to the Padres. DeGrom was determined to sweep San Diego and get into the NLDS Game 1 in Los Angeles next Wednesday. Buck Showalter, his manager, told him that he would only start Game 2, if the Mets lose their playoff opener. DeGrom noticed that Max Scherzer was being attacked by the Padres, who allowed seven runs and four homers. He analyzed their swings and their reactions when faced with certain pitches.

Showalter made a bold statement shortly after the game: deGrom would pitch Game 2. The Mets weren't going to let their season slide by without giving their headliner of the rotation a fair chance.

“It’s a huge goal of mine to keep this thing going and pass it along to [Chris] Bassitt,” deGrom said.

The Mets have greater faith in deGrom than anyone else, even though he will be entering Game 2 at one the most difficult points of his career. He has been sidelined almost 13 months between July 2021 and August 2022 due to a variety of injuries, including two major ones that left him with a broken elbow, shoulder, forearm, and back. The Mets welcomed deGrom back and gradually increased his pitch counts in fear for his health.

The plan seemed to be working up until mid-September when deGrom saw the first cracks. Three runs were allowed to the Cubs in a game, which swept the Mets, as they began their descent from division champions to a Wild Card team. He allowed three more in his next start to the last-place Pirates, then five to another last-place club, the A’s -- deGrom’s worst start in more than three years. After the Mets won three games in Atlanta, deGrom gave up three more runs to Atlanta. He later admitted that he had a blood blister on his right hand.

Although the blister was one reason why the Mets selected Scherzer over deGrom for Game 1, other factors were involved.

DeGrom insists that his finger is not an issue. The dead skin, he says, has all peeled away, and he’s no longer treating it.

This is a chance to see deGrom as a dominant pitcher again, rather than the pitcher with a 6.00 ERA in his last four starts. Padres star Manny Machado called deGrom “a great” pitcher, which he’ll need to be if the Mets intend to play beyond Saturday.

The Mets believe he will be similar to what he was in 2015

“That’s what we love doing, competing, and going out there in big situations,” deGrom said. “You’re going out there and you try to leave it all out on the field. You can look in the mirror and see that you gave 100 percent. That’s all you can do.”