When Jacob deGrom got back to his locker after making his major-league debut, he had two game-used baseballs waiting for him, one for his first strikeout and another for his first hit.
The most important keepsake eluded the young right-hander — his first major league victory — but that was no fault of his own. He received zero support from the Mets in the Yankees’ 1-0 victory at Citi Field Thursday night.
DeGrom, the lanky, 25-year-old right-hander with the flowing brown locks called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to replace injured ace Dillon Gee in the rotation, did everything in his power to give the Mets a Subway Series victory. Instead, the two teams split the four meetings, each sweeping on the other’s turf.
DeGrom tossed seven brilliant innings of four-hit, one-run ball. He struck out six, walked two and was economical, throwing just 91 pitches. He got one of the two Mets hits.
“It makes you feel good when you go out there and your debut is good,” said deGrom, unable to suppress a grin despite the loss. “You want to prove you can pitch at this level. That was my goal, to keep the game close and give us a chance to win.”
He set up the Mets’ best scoring opportunity, lining a single to left-center field in the third inning off fellow rookie Chase Whitley, as the Mets put runners on the corners with just one out. They failed to score, though deGrom ended a string of 64 at-bats for Mets pitchers without a hit.
But it was the power in his right arm that left the biggest impression. Commanding all four of his pitches, including a blistering fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s and a deceptive changeup, mixing them well.
“DeGrom’s performance tonight was spectacular,” David Wright said.
Even the lone run he gave up wasn’t entirely his fault. DeGrom seemed like he was out of the seventh, when he got Yankees catcher Brian McCann to ground out to the right side.
Daniel Murphy forced Mark Teixeira at second, but Wright, playing by the second-base bag as part of the shift, threw wildly to first, botching a potential double play. And Alfonso Soriano made the Mets and deGrom pay, drilling a hanging breaking ball into the left-center field gap to score McCann with the game’s only run.
Aside from the final result, deGrom’s first taste of the big leagues was everything he imagined.
“It’s a feeling I’ll probably never have again,” deGrom said.
He just hopes his next outing results in a win, and the most important first of his young career.