New York Mets: Imagining Jacob deGrom … with an offense
By Bill Felber
March-April
DeGrom made six starts by April 30, but since the Red Sox were not scheduled opposite his April 16 start against Washington – he gave up three runs in six and one-third innings – that start is erased. In the remaining five starts, deGrom went 3-0 for the New York Mets with two no decisions. In one of those no decisions, he allowed four runs in six innings against the Marlins, his worst outing of the season. In the other, he pitched scoreless ball for seven innings before being lifted.
Had deGrom pitched those five games for the Red Sox, these would have been the projected outcomes
Date Opp. IP Score at exit Pen allows Final Decision Record
3-31 TBR 5.2 3-1 1 3-2 Win 1-0
4-5 TBR 6 0-0 2 3-2 ND(W)
4-10 NYY 7.1 14-1 0 14-1 Win 2-0
4-21 Oak 7 0-0 0 ? ?
4-27 TBR 7.1 3-0 0 3-0 Win 3-0
In the actual April 21 game with Oakland, the A’s won 3-0 in nine innings, having scored all three runs against Boston’s starter. But our scenario imagines that deGrom replicated the seven shutout innings he threw for the Mets that day, wiping out those three Oakland runs and creating a 0-0 tie that would have gone into extra innings. That makes the final game outcome unknowable, but either way it’s a no-decision for deGrom.
The April 27 game is also interesting because in the real world Boston lost 4-3 to Tampa Bay. DeGrom, however, pitched 7.1 innings of shutout ball. Had he done that for the Sox, they would have won 3-0. In the April 16 start that is not counted since the Red Sox did not play, he allowed three runs in 7.1 innings, a performance that likely would also have been good enough to win. Were we to count that one in deGrom’s favor, he probably would have concluded the month at 4-0.