2015 World Series: Jacob deGrom's mojo falters in 5th of Game 2 loss
Jacob deGrom allowed four runs to Kansas City in a turning-point inning, after allowing four runs over 20 innings in first three postseason outings for the Mets.
By
Dave Brown
•
4 min read
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- "Just that one inning," Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom said, and things could have been different in Game 2 of the World Series.
Allowing as many runs in the fifth inning as he had in three career postseason starts combined, deGrom lost a slim lead and let the Kansas City Royals take control of the Series with a 7-1 victory at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Mets trail the best-of-seven Series 0-2 heading to Citi Field for Games 3, 4 and (they hope) 5. Kansas City opened with a 5-4 victory in 14 innings in Game 1
"I think they’ve outplayed us," David Wright said. "Simple as that. When you pitch better, hit better, play defense better you're normally going to win."
Unable to get the Royals to swing and miss even one time using his fastball -- a first after 55 career starts, as Daren Willman of Baseball Savant noted -- deGrom himself missed over the plate during favorable counts in the fifth and allowed key hits to Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales. A pitchers duel with Johnny Cueto had transformed into a one-side game in Kansas City's favor.
"They don’t swing and miss, they put the ball in play, which is what we knew they'd do going in," deGrom said of the Royals, who were best in the league at not striking out during the regular season.
DeGrom retired eight of nine batters to start the game, but the Royals threatened in the fourth after an error by Lucas Duda, a single by Hosmer and a walk to Mike Moustakas loaded the bases with two outs. As he has in two of his previous starts in the postseason, deGrom pitched out of the jam to protect a 1-0 lead. He wouldn't be as fortunate in the fifth.
Alex Gordon drew a leadoff walk and Alex Rios singled to center to put runners at first and second. Escobar, after two attempts to bunt the runners ahead 90 feet, swung away with two strikes and lined an RBI to center, tying the score. Ben Zobrist advanced the runners to second and third with a ground ball to the right side, but Lorenzo Cain could not find grass, lining out to Juan Lagares in center too shallow to score the runner on third.
Hosmer, who became the club's all-time RBI leader in the postseason in Game 1, followed with a two-run single to break the tie. Mets manager Terry Collins had the bullpen working, but stayed with deGrom, who allowed another RBI single, to Kendrys Morales, to make it 4-1 Kansas City. In 20 postseason innings coming in, deGrom had allowed four earned runs total in 20 innings.
"For sure," deGrom said when asked if he missed with location against Escobar and Hosmer.
And the mistakes were physical.
"I just didn’t make a pitch when I needed to in the fifth inning," deGrom said.
Mets manager Terry Collins said deGrom was over the plate too much.
"I told Jake not everything has to be a strike," Collins said. "You've got to move it around. You've got to change speeds, give them something to look at. If you continue to pound the strike zone, they're going to put it in play, and that's what they did."
Collins wasn't having anyone question whether he had gone too long with deGrom in the fifth with Jonathon Niese warming in the bullpen.
"This guy has been our ace; you have to stay with him," Collins said. "We've been sitting here raving the last two series that he's gotten himself out of trouble, and you're sitting there saying we should go to Niese now, with Bartolo Colon [unavailable]. I just thought it was time we could ride Jake and see if we could get him out of that inning and get him through one more and get better matchups."
After falling in Game 1, the Mets figured to have an advantage with deGrom on the mound. He posted a 2.54 ERA in the regular season, and a 1.80 mark in three playoff starts. His mojo just didn't last into the fifth inning.
"Jake came out throwing the ball great," Wright said. "They just grinded him out. They did a really nice job of fouling off some tough pitches, putting in play some really good pitches. When you’ve got a team that continuously fights for every pitch, it can wear you down. He likes to pitch to contact, they just found some holes."
On the other side, Cueto had struggled periodically since being traded to the Royals in July. But once the Royals took the lead, Cueto was even stronger. He wasn't as dominant as in Game 5 against the Astros in the ALDS, but Cueto looked nothing like the overmatched soul against the Blue Jays on the road in the ALCS.
And deGrom didn't quite look like himself either, at least come the fifth.
"It was just one inning where they got hits over and over and over," catcher Travis d'Arnaud said. "They keep the line moving and they manufactured those runs in that one inning."
That one inning -- in which the Mets went from hopeful to kind of worried about their chances in the World Series.
