LOS ANGELES — Jacob deGrom began in survival mode and ended in glory. He was nearly removed a few batters into Game 5. That he wound up throwing six innings and gaining the designation winning pitcher spoke more about his ace-hood than the seven shutout innings in the division series opener.
In that game, he had everything working and potentially four more division series games for the Mets to make up for it if he hadn’t.
On Thursday night, deGrom was not nearly as sharp in the Mets’ 3-2, win in Game 5, and there were no safety provisions — no tomorrow if the Mets lost.