NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom was pulled after six scoreless innings Friday night with right flexor tendinitis, but the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner said he isn't troubled by the diagnosis amid a historically dominant season.
DeGrom faced the minimum against the San Diego Padres and had thrown just 80 pitches before being lifted. Manager Luis Rojas met with deGrom in the dugout after the sixth and shook his hand, signaling his night was done.
New York announced the elbow injury two innings later.
DeGrom said he felt discomfort there this week but wasn't concerned. He tore the ligament in his pitching elbow as a minor leaguer in 2010 and knows what that feels like, and he said “this didn't feel anything like that.”
The elbow began to tighten up in the sixth inning Friday, leading to the decision to pull deGrom. He underwent several tests to ensure the ligament was intact — something the 32-year-old does regularly — but those tests did not include any imaging.
“Whenever you say elbow anything for a pitcher, everyone gets nervous about that,” deGrom said. “But like I said, I do a lot of ligament tests on my own, and doing those, knowing what those feel like, it's a totally different spot.”
DeGrom had a no-hitter until Wil Myers beat the shift with a weak grounder in the fifth. Myers was caught stealing by catcher James McCann a few pitches later.
He was the only runner to reach against deGrom, who struck out 10. New York has been limiting his workload since an injured list stint in May with right side tightness.
DeGrom also had a two-run single, giving him five RBIs this season, compared to four earned runs allowed.
DeGrom's 0.56 ERA is the lowest ever by a pitcher through 10 starts, just ahead of Juan Marichal’s 0.59 in 1966.
Over the past two starts — both against the star-studded Padres — deGrom has thrown 13 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk with 21 strikeouts.
He entered the game with 121 pitches this season thrown 100 mph or harder, and he topped that mark seven more times. No other starter had more than 10 such pitches before Friday.
DeGrom got his 100th strikeout this year when Fernando Tatis Jr. went down swinging in the fourth, reaching the mark in 61 2/3 innings — the fewest innings to reach 100 punchouts in a season since the mound was moved to 60 feet, six inches in 1893, per ESPN.
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