MLB teams
Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer 3y

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom exits with shoulder soreness, 'confident that this is nothing'

MLB, New York Mets

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom will get an MRI on his right shoulder on Thursday after leaving Wednesday's start against the visiting Chicago Cubs because of soreness.

"I felt good warming up, felt really good in the first and second innings, then there in the third my shoulder was sore," deGrom said after the Mets' 6-3 win. "This is getting old. I want to be out there competing instead of coming out of these games with these little [things]."

DeGrom, 32, struck out eight of the nine batters he faced over three innings, and he drove in a run with an RBI single in the second inning. The right-hander threw 51 pitches and was replaced by Sean Reid-Foley in the top of the fourth.

In his previous start on Friday, deGrom left against the San Diego Padres after six innings with flexor tendinitis in his right arm. He was also pulled on May 9 against the Arizona Diamondbacks after five innings with right side tightness, later missing two starts. On May 4, he was scratched from a start because of the same issue.

"This is frustrating," deGrom said. "I want to be out there as long as I can be out there."

After the game, deGrom did get some encouraging news: Tests on his right shoulder showed no decline in strength when compared to his left one.

"I think it's three separate issues," deGrom said of his injuries this season. "I think the lat was something to do with the swing. The elbow I didn't think too much of ... I was pretty confident that that was nothing. And I'm pretty confident that this is nothing. We did some tests and ruled out anything serious."

Mets manager Luis Rojas added: "During the game I got a report. We can call it an encouraging report."

DeGrom was asked if he thought his uptick in velocity this season has anything to do with his nagging ailments.

"I don't know," he answered. "I don't know the answer to that. ... I don't know where to place the blame."

DeGrom had an MRI earlier this week on his elbow, but it came back clean. Now he's dealing with his shoulder, which led to Rojas being asked if he "regretted" pitching him five days after his last problem.

"Not at all, because everyone was on board and everything went accordingly," Rojas said. "There was no feedback that would give us a red flag."

DeGrom's three shutout innings on Wednesday lowered his ERA to 0.54 -- he has given up only four earned runs all year -- while his RBI gave him six on the season. He has 111 strikeouts in 67 innings.

He was asked if taking some time off, no matter what the MRI shows, could be a possibility for him.

"That's a tough question because I want to be out there every fifth day," deGrom said. "That will be a decision based on what we see [Thursday], but the competitor in me wants to be out there."

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