Jacob deGrom pitched another fantastic game and showed why
he is one of the best pitchers in baseball this past Friday as he and the New
York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals 4-2. deGrom (9-9) with a 1.77 ERA
went seven innings and allowed one run on three hits and struck out eight and
walked one. His fastball which I feel is his bread and butter pitch was effective
as usual. He struck out slugger Bryce Harper twice and got him to groundout
back to the pitcher’s box. As the NL CY Young Award watch continues deGrom
moved a little close to the award. He added to the record of 28 starts in a row
allowing three runs or fewer. He has pitched 23 quality starts in a row which
is also a record. Bob Gibson held the record previously.
One of deGrom’s competitors for the CY Young Award is Max
Scherzer who is (17-7) with a 2.57 ERA pitched this past Thursday against the
Mets. He went seven innings and gave up three runs, five hits and had thirteen
strikeouts. He was not involved in the decision as the Mets defeated the
Nationals 5-4 in extra innings. Scherzer who is close to three hundred
strikeouts for the season gave up back to back homeruns to Conforto and Bruce. I
was surprised Scherzer’s pitch to Conforto was placed outside since Conforto is
known to be a good opposite field hitter. I thought Scherzer would have tried to pitch
him inside so he would not have been able to extend. It would have been more interesting
if the two teams would have arranged their rotations in order for deGrom and Scherzer
to face off against each other during this series.
The race for the CY Young Award is tight as they go down to
the wire with deGrom facing the National League Division winning Atlanta Braves
for his next start. deGrom has been outstanding during the streak, however the
Braves have the lineup that can affect deGrom’s chances of winning the award
just like they did with Scherzer when he faced the Braves prior to facing the
Mets this past week. Both pitchers have had a tremendous season along with
Aaron Nola of the Phillies who is the other competitor for the award. It is
difficult to say who is the favorite to win the award with deGrom leading in
ERA and breaking the two records and Scherzer having the better won and lost
record and closing in on the strikeout title. Nola’s record is 16-6 with a 2.45
ERA and has pitched over 200 innings. It is also difficult to predict who will
win it as all media and fans look forward to their next and final start.
4 comments:
Tony -
I have looked at this at many directions and I can not see baseball taking this award away from Jake.
I can. It's MLB's opportunity for another big F-U to the Mets and it's a safer choice to give it to Scherzer.
I say Jake is the clear front runner - but the season is not over. If Jake finishes strong and wins # 10, he should lock it up. He has had a poor hitting team (except for him) and a weak pen supporting him all year - not his fault.
When he starts, make sure McNeil is playing.
I am biased, but Jake should be the favorite, period.
Yes, he doesn't have the sexy win loss record, but look at the rest of his
stats! Plus, wins are a team stat and not a direct reflection on Jake himself.
Plus, none of the three pitchers are on teams that are overly successful or en route to the playoffs, so that also favors Jake.
***But, Reese make a good point......the Mets usually get the short end of the stick, so who knows?
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