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          New York Mets

          Jacob deGrom: 'That's probably the hardest I've had to work'

          Jacob deGrom allowed two runs and struck out seven over six innings in Game 5 against the Dodgers. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
          • Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff WriterOct 16, 2015, 05:37 AM
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              Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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          LOS ANGELES -- Jacob deGrom thought manager Terry Collins might pull him during a visit to the mound in the third inning. Instead, deGrom got a vote of confidence.

          "I honestly didn't know," deGrom said. "I knew I was struggling. He came out there and said, 'Hey, let's go one pitch at a time. They're not going to score anymore.' He had confidence in me. I'm thankful I got to stay in that game."

          In a game in which he labored, deGrom ultimately gutted through six innings as the New York Mets ousted the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 3-2 victory in Game 5 of their National League Division Series.

          DeGrom gave up four straight one-out singles in the first inning as Los Angeles grabbed a 2-1 lead. From that point, though, deGrom held the Dodgers to 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position the remainder of his outing.

          After deGrom walked Yasmani Grandal in the third inning to place runners on the corners with one out, Collins made his mound visit. DeGrom then coaxed a 1-6-3 double play.

          A half-inning later, Travis d'Arnaud's sacrifice fly plated Daniel Murphy to even the score. Murphy then hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth against Zack Greinke.

          DeGrom, who tossed seven scoreless innings opposite Clayton Kershaw in Game 1, became the fourth starting pitcher in major league history to defeat two previous Cy Young winners in the same postseason series, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The other three all beat Atlanta's Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine: Kevin Brown (1997 Marlins), Sterling Hitchcock (1998 Padres) and Randy Johnson (2001 Diamondbacks).

          "I think that's probably the hardest I've had to work,” deGrom said. "I knew from inning one it was going to be a battle. I knew then I didn't have my best stuff. And that's a good lineup over there. It's not fun when you don't have your best stuff against them.

          "The fastball was the toughest pitch I had locating, which is not normal for me. I had pretty good control of my curveball, so I went to that quite a bit. I was trying to get first-pitch strikes with that. With two strikes I was using it a lot, too."

          Said co-ace Matt Harvey: "He battled through six innings. And that was enough. That was all we needed. When we have our good games, it's pretty easy for us. Then we have those kind of games where we're scuffling and really dig deep and find a way to get it done."