WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Mets starter Jacob deGrom breezed through two innings in his Grapefruit League debut Saturday afternoon, retiring all six Astros batters he faced while striking out three in a 3-1 win at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
deGrom, who did not pitch after Sept. 1 this past season and had surgery to reposition the ulnar nerve in his right elbow on Sept. 21, threw 19 of his 26 pitches for strikes and was hitting the mid-90s with his fastball. P.J. Conlon followed with two scoreless innings.
"First outing after surgery, and things went the right way, I feel like," deGrom said. "I had the adrenaline flowing. First time in a game since surgery, I was a little nervous, but I'm glad I was able to go out there and throw the way I wanted."
Lucas Duda snapped a scoreless tie with a double in the sixth inning, and Gavin Cecchini hit a two-run double off Astros pitcher David Paulino in the seventh to push the lead to 3-0. Carlos Beltran's second homer of the spring, a solo shot to lead off the seventh, got the Astros on the board.

Astros starter Joe Musgrove threw three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk in his second outing. The back end of the Houston bullpen represented well, as Luke Gregerson and Ken Giles each threw a scoreless inning, striking out two batters apiece.
"My body was feeling really good today," Musgrove said. "I've been kind of struggling a little bit with some stiffness and stuff, and I did some good work with the trainers this week, and they took good care of me and got me feeling right. Any time I can go out there and feel more comfortable and more concerned with that other than my body, it's going to be easier for me to work."

UP NEXT
Mets: Right-hander Matt Harvey makes his spring debut at 1:10 p.m. ET Sunday on MLB.TV as the Mets take on the Cardinals at First Data Field. Also scheduled to pitch on Sunday are right-handers Seth Lugo, Jeurys Familia, Hansel Robles and Erik Goeddel, as well as lefty Jordan Schafer.
Astros: Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa will play in their final Grapefruit League game before leaving for the World Baseball Classic when the Astros meet the Marlins at 12:05 p.m. CT Sunday on Gameday Audio in Jupiter, Fla. Mike Fiers, a candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation, will make his second start for Houston.
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