DeGrom Wins Citi Field Homecoming as Mets Drop Seventh Straight

Jonah Tong looked shaky from the start, walking two of his first three batters, prompting an early visit from pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. After the powwow, Tong got Jake Burger to fly to center and was one pitch away from escaping the first inning unscathed.

But Josh Jung fought off an 0-2, 96 mph inside fastball for an RBI single to right. Then the dam broke. Alejandro Osuna singled in a run. Jonah Heim walked to load the bases. Cody Freeman connected for a two-run single. Michael Helman added a two-run double. It was 6-0 Rangers and Tong’s night was done. He recorded two outs.

The Texas Rangers (78-70) went on to secure an 8-3 victory, sending the Mets to their seventh-straight loss behind a quality start from Jacob deGrom, who was grateful for the run support at Citi Field. In 209 starts for the Mets, the two-time Cy Young winner never received more than four runs of support in the first inning, per SNY. His two strikeouts upped his Citi Field-leading total to 901.

The Mets cut the lead in half in the third. Francisco Alvarez led off the frame with his first homer since coming off the injured list last Friday. After Cedric Mullins singled and Francisco Lindor doubled, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso hit back-to-back sacrifice flies.

Jeff McNeil was ejected for the first time in his career in the fourth when he protested a 3-2 pitch that was called a strike at the knees. The 37-year-old deGrom (12-7) retired the last 15 batters he faced. A night ago in Philadelphia, 25 consecutive Mets were set down in a row.

The bullpen kept the Mets in it for awhile. Huascar Brazobán threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings and Ryne Stanek got five outs without allowing a baserunner, but Gregory Soto gave up a two-run, pinch-hit homer to Dylan Moore in the seventh that extended the Texas lead to 8-3. Soto gave up four runs in his prior outing on Wednesday at Philadelphia.

At the moment, the Mets (76-72) lead both the Cincinnati Reds (74-72) and San Francisco Giants (74-72) by one game for the final Wild Card spot. The Reds play at the Athletics and the Giants host the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday on the West Coast. The last time the Mets were only four games over .500 was on April 16 when they were 11-7.

The start was deGrom’s first at Citi Field since the 2022 playoffs when he beat the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round.

“I think watching film and some of his last outings, we’re looking at the guy that you guys saw here for a long time,” Carlos Mendoza said before the game. “Electric stuff and his ability to command the baseball. You still looking at 98-99 the fastball, the slider, the change-up. But like I said his ability to command and manipulate the ball the way he’s capable of, it’s a tough match-up.”

Tong vs. deGrom happened 40 years after 20-year-old Dwight Gooden faced 42-year-old Jerry Koosman at Shea Stadium. (It is understood that Tong is not anywhere near the phenom that Gooden was at the time.) Gooden (five earned runs, five innings) and Koosman (six earned runs, 1 2/3 innings) didn’t have their best stuff.

Gooden gave up homers to Mike Schmidt and Rick Schu and Koosman served up long balls to Gary Carter, Ray Knight and Tom Paciorek. The Mets won 10-7.

Stat of the Game

Tong’s outing was the shortest for a Met starter since David Peterson lasted one-third of an inning against the Chicago Cubs in September 2022, per SNY.

It is asking a lot to look for Tong (and his fellow rookie starters) to come up clutch in the heat of a playoff race. A month and two days ago, Tong (1-2) was pitching for Double-A Binghamton in front of 6,144 fans at TD Bank Ballpark in Somerset, N.J.

Player of the Game

Brazobán was sharp in his first major-league appearance since Aug. 26. He gave up two hits and a walk and threw 35 of 51 pitches for strikes.

On Deck

Another rookie vs. veteran matchup. Brandon Sproat (0-1, 4.50 ERA) makes his Citi Field debut against Patrick Corbin (7-9, 4.36 ERA). The 36-year-old lefty is 8-13 with a 5.07 ERA over 165 innings pitched lifetime against the Mets. Game time is 4:10 p.m. ET and it will air on SNY.

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