PHILADELPHIA — Jacob deGrom’s Cy Young award push is going full-throttle.
With each start, inning pitched and earned run against him vital, the Mets ace pushed through a rain delay Saturday and kept going until he pitched all nine innings, firing 108 pitches, and sealed the win.
DeGrom did not allow an earned run against the Phillies in a 3-1 victory at Citizens Bank Park that pushed his record above .500 after a series of letdowns by his lineup.
DeGrom (8-7) saw his earned run average drop from 1.81 to 1.71, still the lowest figure in the major leagues. Max Scherzer (2.11) and Aaron Nola (2.24) are behind deGrom among National League pitchers.
The Phillies scratched for an unearned run against deGrom in the seventh, after Nick Williams and Maikel Franco delivered successive singles. Odubel Herrera followed with a grounder that should have been an inning-ending double play without the run scoring, but deGrom mishandled the return throw to first base. DeGrom, who received an error on the play, retrieved the ball and threw to Jeff McNeil, who tagged Herrera retreating to first base (it was ruled he had made the turn on the bag). Herrera was initially ruled safe at first base, but the call was overturned on a replay challenge by the Mets.
Devin Mesoraco’s solo homer in the seventh and McNeil’s RBI triple in the inning gave deGrom a 3-0 cushion.
DeGrom returned from a 41-minute rain delay in the fourth and quickly got rolling after allowing a leadoff single to Rhys Hoskins. The right-hander retired the next seven batters before Hoskins hit a bloop double in the sixth.
Former Cy Young award winner Jake Arrieta provided resistance for the Mets, allowing one earned run on four hits over six innings.
Wilmer Flores stroked an RBI single in the fourth, just before the rain arrived, to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. McNeil had singled leading off the inning and raced to third base on Arrietta’s errant pickoff attempt to first.
The Mets had a chance to pad their lead in the sixth after McNeil reached on an error and stole second but couldn’t deliver against Arrieta, who was removed in the bottom of the inning for a pinch-hitter.
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