NEW YORK -- Jacob deGrom delivered a win in the New York Mets' home opener on Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Right lat tightness rather than laboring (by deGrom or his wife) cut short his solid performance.
With no apparent sign that his wife, Stacey, had gone into labor in Florida with deBaby, deGrom proceeded with his scheduled start Friday afternoon at Citi Field. He took a scoreless effort into his sixth and final inning and the Mets ultimately won their home opener 7-2.
Michael Conforto drove in a career-high-matching three runs and Neil Walker had two RBIs. Walker has driven in five of the Mets’ 12 runs this season.
The Mets raised their National League championship banner and had a flyover from NYPD helicopters during a pregame ceremony. The announced crowd of 44,099 was the largest in the regular season in Citi Field history.
DeGrom allowed one run on five hits in a 76-pitch effort. He struck out six. He departed for what the Mets labeled “precautionary” reasons because of lat tightness.
DeGrom had suffered from back stiffness during spring training, which prompted him to be scratched from a March 14 Grapefruit League outing. At the time, deGrom faulted his mattress and had a firmer one shipped overnight.
Consistent with spring training, deGrom’s fastball sat at 91-93 mph on Friday -- down from last season’s 95 mph average. Yet deGrom continued to thrive in his season opener. He threw 53 pitches for strikes (69.7 percent) in a walk-free effort against the hapless Phillies, who are off to their first 0-4 start since 2006. Philadelphia’s bullpen has a 12.66 ERA this season.
The lone damage against deGrom came when opposing pitcher Jerad Eickhoff produced a leadoff double in the sixth and scored on a two-out, opposite-field single by Odubel Herrera that evened the score at 1.
Bartolo Colon had been on standby in case deGrom got a pregame call and needed to head to Florida on short notice for the birth of his first child.
DeGrom actually drove in the game’s opening run. In the second, Eickhoff grazed Conforto with a pitch to open the inning. Asdrubal Cabrera then hit a comebacker to Eickhoff, who tried to initiate a double play at second base. Shortstop Freddy Galvis dropped the throw, however, for an error. Travis d'Arnaud walked to load the bases. DeGrom followed with a run-scoring groundout to second base, although the Mets proceeded to strand two in scoring position in the frame.
DeGrom had four of the Mets pitchers’ MLB-best 28 RBIs last season.
Murph who? Walker, who replaced Daniel Murphy at second base, continues to drive in runs. He delivered a tiebreaking RBI single against Eickhoff in the bottom of the sixth as the Mets took a 2-1 lead. Conforto followed with a run-scoring double, which provided a two-run cushion and chased Eickhoff. Walker added an RBI single in the seventh against James Russell.
Walker, formerly of the Pittsburgh Pirates, had produced a two-run homer in Kansas City to spur Tuesday’s 2-0 win.
What a find: Former Milwaukee Brewers closer Jim Henderson looks like a solid pickup now that he is nearly two years removed from shoulder surgery. Henderson, who has emerged as the preferred seventh-inning reliever over Antonio Bastardo, tossed a perfect frame in relief of deGrom to preserve a 3-1 lead. Henderson struck out two batters. His final pitch registered 94 mph to fan Cameron Rupp. Bastardo made his Mets debut in the ninth, with the Mets leading by five runs.
Incident-free return: After serving a two-game suspension in Kansas City, Hansel Robles made his season debut with a six-run lead in the eighth. He allowed an unearned run and departed after recording only one out. Robles had been punished for a quick pitch that whizzed in the direction of Rupp’s head in Philadelphia last Sept. 30. Rupp was in the lineup Friday, but did not face Robles.
Mr. Perfect: Jerry Blevins inherited a pair of baserunners from Robles and continued his perfection ... with the help of some imperfection by the Phillies.
Odubel Herrera sent a pop-up to third base that confused David Wright in the wind. The ball dropped, but an infield fly was called, resulting in the out. Baserunner Cesar Hernandez had broken toward second base and became the victim of a double play.
Batters are now 0-for-19 against Blevins during his Mets career.
What’s next: Colon aims to match Pedro Martinez for second on the all-time wins list for Dominican-born pitchers when the series continues Saturday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Right-hander Vince Velasquez starts for the Phillies.
Juan Marichal leads Dominican-born pitchers with 243 career wins, followed by Martinez with 219 and Colon with 218.
“For me, it’s such a privilege being behind Marichal, alongside Pedro,” the 42-year-old Colon recently said in Spanish. “Though it should be pointed out that I will have done it in many more starts than Pedro, it is still a great accomplishment. As always, I just thank God for allowing me to do the work to keep me in this business.”