Jacob deGrom pulled into 41 Seaver Way on Sunday fully aware of the weight of Mets lore. For years, folks have compared him favorably to Tom Seaver, the greatest player in franchise history. Like Seaver, deGrom won a National League Rookie of the Year Award and two NL Cy Young Awards within his first seven seasons. He has spent his time in Queens routinely accomplishing things that, in some cases, only Seaver had before.
Four days after Seaver’s death, with a black No. 41 patch affixed to his golden right shoulder, deGrom continued accomplishing those things. He struck out a dozen Phillies over seven innings of one-run ball in a 14-1 win at Citi Field, running his streak of consecutive starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed to 12. Only Seaver, Dwight Gooden and Johan Santana compiled longer such streaks with the Mets.
In extending his streak, deGrom lowered his career ERA to 2.58. The all-time franchise leader is Seaver at 2.57.
After Phillies backup catcher Andrew Knapp hit a solo homer in the second inning, deGrom permitted only one additional runner past first base.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].