WASHINGTON — Yup, he still is Jacob deGrom.
In his highly anticipated, long-awaited, much-delayed return to a major-league mound — for the first time in more than a year — deGrom mostly looked like his same old self against the Nationals. He allowed one run in five innings, striking out six and walking none in the Mets’ eventual 5-1 loss, snapping their season-high seven-game winning streak.
Most significantly, perhaps, he seemed to feel totally fine physically after dealing with elbow problems last year and a stress reaction in his right shoulder blade this year. That he exited after 59 pitches was not a surprise, based on his recent workloads in the minors, and indeed that he got through as much of the game as he did on such a limited pitch count was a plus.
The long layoff did not impact deGrom’s ability or desire to throw harder than most any other starting pitcher, either. His fastball averaged 99.2 mph — same as 2021 — and he hit 100 mph or more 13 times.
He was electric from the very start. His first batter, Victor Robles, took a 99.3-mph fastball for a strike one and swung through another 99.3-mph fastball for strike two. After Robles took a ball — a 101.6-mph heater, deGrom’s fastest of the night and third-fastest ever — and managed to foul off a pair of pitches, deGrom got him to whiff at a slider.
Of the three hits deGrom allowed, the first, a single by Keibert Ruiz in the second inning, was erased when rightfielder Starling Marte threw him out at second base. The others, back-to-back in the bottom of the fourth, actually produced a run. Robles singled firmly on a grounder through the left side of the infield. He stole second and scored on Luis Garcia’s double to right-center.
DeGrom rebounded to retire his final six batters.
All that came against a Washington lineup that was utterly depleted, even more so than normal — but still managed to hit three home runs off relievers Stephen Nogosek and Yoan Lopez in the sixth and seventh innings. The Nationals fully steered into their rebuild Tuesday by trading 23-year-old superstar outfielder Juan Soto, as well outfielder Josh Bell, far and away their top two hitters, to the Padres before the trade deadline.
That meant a major-league debut for a first baseman named Joey Meneses, who appeared astonished at the volume of Soto-seeking media members in the Nationals’ clubhouse before the game (and later homered for his first career hit). Rightfielder Josh Palacios made his season debut.
The game nonetheless registered as a major-league contest, which for deGrom was an accomplishment — and for the Mets was reason to celebrate.
“I’m excited to watch him, regardless of how it turns out or the future,” manager Buck Showalter said before the game. “You think about the long road — 392 days — and this is a big day for him personally. The guy has worked. It’s been very frustrating. Can you imagine having that potential at your fingertips and not being able to get to it, not getting it on the field?
“Sometimes you can want something too much. I think we’ll all be glad, regardless of what happens, when we get tonight behind us and physically everything is OK.”
DeGrom hadn’t pitched since July 7, 2021, when he unknowingly tossed his last game of the year. He had a 1.08 ERA. His troublesome elbow wound up sidelining him the entire second half as the Mets’ once-promising season fell apart. Upon arriving at spring training, deGrom deemed himself healthy — and revealed he would opt out of his contract after the season — which appeared to be true briefly. But when he felt discomfort in his shoulder about a week before spring training, a round of medical imaging revealed the injury.
