NEW YORK (AP) — Mets star Jacob DeGrom had an issue while warming up before his last start and was pushed back from a Subway Series outing against the Yankees.
Taijuan Walker will follow Max Scherzer in the rotation and start Tuesday night's finale of the two-game series at Yankee Stadium. Walker has not pitched since Aug. 16 at Atlanta due to back spasms and felt good Monday, a day after he worked out Sunday in Philadelphia.
“I don’t want him to get too far away from pitching and lose his arm strength,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said Monday. “That was the primary reason.”
Showalter said deGrom likely will start Thursday against Colorado but could take the mound Friday and swap spots with Chris Bassitt.
“We’re trying to be careful,” Showalter said. “The priority is with Tai. We don’t think it’s a bad thing for Jake.”
DeGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, is 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA in four starts since a year-long layoff caused by an elbow injury last summer and a stress reaction in his right scapula this spring. He threw 59 pitches in his season debut at Washington on Aug. 2, then 76 in each of his next two outings and 95 last Thursday in a 3-2 loss at the Braves.
“Not a typical warmup, but he was fine once he got warmed up,” Showalter said. “Before and after every start, everybody has something. Some great pitchers. But he, no, he actually improved being that he threw more than he has.”
With the rotation change, deGrom and Scherzer will not pitch on consecutive days.
"If you go by a track record, it probably makes sense to split those two guys up from a bullpen health standpoint,'' Showalter said.
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