ST. LOUIS -- Jacob deGrom has hit a speed bump at an inopportune time.
DeGrom surrendered a career-high-matching three homers and failed to complete the fifth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 8-1 Wednesday at Busch Stadium.
The Mets (63-63) again dropped 4½ games behind the Cardinals for the National League’s second wild-card spot -- heightening the importance of Thursday’s rubber game, which pits Mets rookie starter Seth Lugo against decade-old Mets nemesis Adam Wainwright.
DeGrom surrendered five runs on 12 hits and two walks in 4⅔ innings. Matt Carpenter, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty went deep.
There was more injury misfortune, too, although the latest event seemed relatively benign by Mets standards. Right fielder Jay Bruce departed the game in the second inning with what was described as cramping in his right calf.
“In San Francisco I fouled a ball off my shin, which I’ve done too many times in my career,” Bruce said. “I think it has to do with the way the swelling is dispersing through my muscle. I’m shooting for [returning] tomorrow. I didn’t feel anything all day. We’ve been taking care of it in the training room. I was running out to the outfield in the first inning and it kind of grabbed on me and got tight. I figured it would go away and told them I wanted to take the at-bat and see if it loosened up at all. It really didn’t. When I was pushing off, it was still grabbing on me. So they took me out as a precaution.
“Definitely I don’t consider it serious at all. I just didn’t want it to get serious, and try to head it off before it got too bad.”
DeGrom was coming off a five-inning outing last week in San Francisco in which he allowed career highs with eight runs and 13 hits.
DeGrom's past two starts mark the first time in franchise history that a pitcher has allowed a dozen hits in consecutive appearances, and the first time in deGrom’s career that he has allowed double-digit hits in consecutive outings. DeGrom’s combined 13 runs allowed in his past two outings matches the total he had surrendered in his previous 10 starts, a span during which he produced a 1.76 ERA.
“I feel fine,” deGrom said. “It’s hard to get results when you throw everything right down the middle. That’s what it is. I’m missing down the middle. These are big-league hitters, and that’s what they do.”
Overall, the Mets surrendered 19 hits Wednesday. It was the most allowed by the Mets since a 21-hit attack by the Philadelphia Phillies in a 16-1 rout on Sept. 20, 2012.
At least deGrom is seemingly healthy, albeit potentially hitting a wall. The same cannot be said for rotation mates Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Jonathon Niese and Zack Wheeler -- all of whom are on the disabled list. Only Matz is projected to return this season.
Manager Terry Collins said the Mets would convene Thursday to discuss what's going on with deGrom. Collins speculated that fatigue is the most likely culprit. He openly wondered if giving deGrom time off would benefit deGrom. Then, the manager noted, it's not like the Mets have the extra arms to spare with Lugo and Robert Gsellman already pressed into the rotation.
“I honestly don’t know why,” deGrom said about his struggles. “Everything, when I seem to miss, it seems to go right down the middle and seems to get hit out of the park or off the wall or something. These last two were frustrating, but I’ve got another one in five days. So I’ve got to get ready for that one. ... I don't feel tired at all. I felt fine."