Jacob deGrom is no longer perfect in the All-Star Game. The New York Mets ace lost that honor when the best player in baseball hit a home run against him.
New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom made his second All-Star appearance fo the National League on Tuesday night in Washington D.C. In relief for starter Max Scherzer, deGrom looked to hold the game in check.
deGrom didn’t draw the same level of players he did in his first All-Star Game. When he struck out Stephen Vogt, Jason Kipnis, and Jose Iglesias on 10 pitches, he was up against the B-Leaguers. This year he went up against MVPs.
Manager Dave Roberts put deGrom into the game to start the third inning. Down 1-0, deGrom would face the top of the order.
The first batter deGrom faced was Mookie Betts. He has yet to win an MVP Award, but he is leading the league with a .359 batting average and a favorite to take the crown this year. The Boston Red Sox outfielder flew out to center field in his at-bat against deGrom, keeping Big Jake’s All-Star perfection intact.
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Batting second for the American League, Jose Altuve stepped into the box. deGrom got the reigning AL MVP and World Series Champion to pop out to third base. Now one out away, the lone Mets representative had one more battle to take part in.
Stepping up to the plate with two outs, the immortal two-time MVP Mike Trout would face deGrom next. Arguably the best in the game, Trout reminded us why.
A line drive from Trout’s bat landed beyond the outfield wall for a home run. deGrom’s perfect All-Star career was over with one swing.
Unfazed, deGrom took the ball for one more batter. Things wouldn’t get any easier. That batter was J.D. Martinez. He just happens to lead the league with 29 home runs and 80 RBI.
As Mets fans have seen deGrom do plenty, he bore down and got the job done. Martinez went down on strikes and ended any chance at embarrassing deGrom.
This performance by deGrom was one of the tougher ones we could have imagined. At least two of the guys he faced are probably heading to Cooperstown one day.
Nevertheless, it was nice to see deGrom finish strong. It was a nice reminder of what the fans in New York can look forward to every fifth day.
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Even better, a second inning performance allowed Mets fans to check out early and spend their nights doing something else. On a Tuesday night in summer, this is a lovely gift.