NEW YORK — Statistically speaking, no one has been as dominant as Jacob deGrom to start a career. Anecdotally speaking, no Mets pitcher has been as dominant this year as deGrom was on Sunday.
In fanning seven of the first 10 batters he faced in a 5-2 win at Citi Field, deGrom passed Yu Darvish for the most strikeouts by a pitcher through 200 career games. Darvish struck out 1,517 in his first 200 outings. deGrom not only passed him but continued tacking onto his total throughout Sunday’s game against the Braves, finishing with 12 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.
No Braves batter reached base against deGrom until he walked Ehire Adrianza with two outs in the sixth. Dansby Swanson followed with an opposite-field homer to end deGrom’s night after 76 pitches.
Looking like his dominant self in the first inning, deGrom fanned a pair, including Matt Olson on a 102 mph fastball and Austin Riley on a 96 mph slider. He struck out two in the second inning, two more in the third and another two in the fourth to top Darvish’s record, then fanned two in the fifth and two in the sixth.
That gave deGrom 18 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings since returning from the injured list. He missed the entire first half of the season due to a stress reaction in his right scapula, which is why the Mets prescribed such a strict pitch limit for him coming into Sunday’s start.
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