Mets History: Revisiting Jacob deGrom’s near no-hitter in 2016

In 2016, New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom came one single away from throwing a no-hitter. At the time, we had no clue he’d get so close to MLB history.

At the start of the 2019 MLB season, the New York Mets still have only one no-hitter in their franchise’s history. Johan Santana is the man who went the distance.

Most recently, though, one man came pretty darn close to tossing a no-hitter. Two years before winning the 2018 Cy Young, Jacob deGrom took the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies in the City of Brotherly Love and came one hit shy of throwing a no-no.

On July 17, 2016, deGrom was vying for his sixth win of the season. It was his first start since the All-Star Break. A Mets lineup consisting of Jose Reyes in the leadoff spot and Rene Rivera behind the dish and batting eighth would supply him with the support to win 5-0.

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This game ended up as more than a shutout victory for the Mets against a bad Phillies team. At out 27, deGrom completed a one-hit shutout.

In the bottom of the third inning, Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin went to the plate with two outs. He knocked a single, which at the time, seemed like nothing more than a regular base hit. deGrom was able to retire the next batter, erasing the mistake.

deGrom continued to plow through the Phillies lineup. Until an 8th inning walk to Ryan Howard, no other Phillies player reached base. He was erased two batters later on a double play hit by Freddy Galvis.

The ninth inning was as easy as any for deGrom. Two groundouts and a strikeout to end the game completed the one-hitter. It took deGrom only 105 pitches to complete the masterpiece. He faced only one over the minimum amount of batters with 28 plate appearances accumulated by Phillies players.

One-hitters are always frustrating because of how close the pitcher came to baseball history. In this particular game, it’s even more heart wrenching because a pitcher had the lone hit. The one guy who should be a near automatic out was the one thorn in deGrom’s side this day.

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The 2016 deGrom one-hitter was the first since Matt Harvey and Bobby Parnell combined for one on May 5, 2013, against the Chicago White Sox. As a franchise always willing and able to employ some amazing starting pitchers, there’s a good chance we see plenty more in the near future.