deGrom ends Mets' slide in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE -- Jacob deGrom blanked the Brewers for eight innings Thursday in the Mets' 2-0 win at Miller Park, snapping New York's seven-game losing streak and denying Milwaukee's bid for its first series sweep.
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"If you're going to start a streak, you've got to win one," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "We've had a horrible trip. We haven't scored. Three one-run losses. So let's just go home where we've played well, and hopefully we can continue this."
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Only one Brewer reached base in the first six innings against deGrom, who surrendered four hits while pitching at least seven innings for the seventh straight start. He did not walk a batter and struck out seven.
Michael Cuddyer and Wilmer Flores connected for consecutive two-out hits in the sixth inning against Brewers reliever Michael Blazek to give deGrom and the Mets a lead. Blazek was scored upon for only the seventh time in 30 appearances while working in relief of rookie starter Taylor Jungmann, who needed 91 pitches for five scoreless innings.
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"I thought [Jungmann] did a good job, and I was real comfortable turning it over to the guys we turned it over to. It just didn't work out," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
Video: NYM@MIL: Jungmann fans five in five scoreless frames
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
deGrominant: When Adam Lind singled with two outs in the seventh, it snapped a streak of 13 consecutive outs for deGrom. The ensuing rally ate up his pitch count, destroying any realistic chance he might have had to pitch a complete-game shutout. But deGrom was still brilliant over eight scoreless innings, lowering his ERA over his last eight starts to 1.23. More >
Video: NYM@MIL: deGrom fans seven in eight scoreless frames
Upon review: Officials at Major League Baseball's replay command center took a good, long look -- four minutes and 19 seconds -- at a close play at home plate in the second inning. Plate umpire Vic Carapazza had called out Cuddyer trying to score from second base on a Kevin Plawecki single to center fielder Gerardo Parra, who made an accurate throw home. Upon review, there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the call, so it stood.
"It was a tough call," Counsell said. "There was a lot to look at. I don't know what goes on in their decision-making. It feels like the longer it goes, the less chance they're going to turn it over. We just have to wait. It's out of our hands."
Video: NYM@MIL: Call stands as Parra nabs Cuddyer at home
Two is enough: The Mets had scored just one run in 19 innings when Flores doubled home Cuddyer with two outs in the sixth, giving deGrom the rare luxury of a lead. They doubled his margin in the seventh, when Lucas Duda singled home a second run off Brewers reliever Will Smith's leg. But the Mets stranded the bases loaded that inning, keeping Milwaukee in the game.
Video: NYM@MIL: Duda extends Mets' lead on infield single
Strong-arming it: Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy notched a pair of critical assists to help Jungmann hold the Mets scoreless through five innings. Twice, Lucroy threw out a Mets runner trying to steal second base, including Darrell Ceciliani for the second out of the fourth inning. When Mets manager Terry Collins aired his displeasure about that call -- replays showed he had a legitimate beef -- he was ejected by second-base umpire Larry Vanover. More >
Video: NYM@MIL: Collins tossed after out on Ceciliani
All in the Familia: Missing four straight games because of a mild groin injury, Mets closer Jeurys Familia relieved deGrom in the ninth and promptly slammed the door, inducing a pair of groundouts before whiffing Ryan Braun to end things. That lowered Familia's ERA to 1.35, with 20 saves in 22 chances. He and deGrom are the Mets' most likely All-Stars.
Video: NYM@MIL: Familia fans Braun to earn the save
UPON REVIEW, PART II
It took only 48 seconds in the seventh inning for a crew chief review. At Mets bench coach Bob Geren's request, they took a second look at Shane Peterson's double down the left-field line, which briefly put the Brewers in business against deGrom with runners at second and third and two outs. But the call was overturned when replays showed the baseball landed barely foul, and Peterson returned to the batter's box to smack a single to center field. deGrom then retired Jean Segura on a fly out to keep the Brewers off the scoreboard.
Video: NYM@MIL: Peterson's double overturned as foul ball
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY
Here was something you don't see very often at Miller Park: Fans scurrying to the covered concourses in the bottom of the second inning to escape a sudden burst of rain in a stadium with a convertible roof. According to the Brewers, Innovative Weather, the club's outside consultants who advise on precipitation in real time, had nothing on the radar. Once the first drizzle commenced, the Brewers activated a crew to close the roof.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mets: Their nightmare, three-city road trip finally at an end, the Mets will return home for a six-game homestand beginning Friday against the Reds. Noah Syndergaard will kick things off in a 7:10 p.m. ET game against Reds right-hander Johnny Cueto.
Brewers: Former Brewers great Paul Molitor will return to Milwaukee as a manager for the first time on Friday, when the Twins visit for the start of a three-game Interleague series. Molitor, whose No. 4 hangs high above at Miller Park, will send Trevor May to the mound against Brewers starter Kyle Lohse. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. CT.
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