Of all the things that went right for Terry Collins on Thursday, including a masterpiece from Jacob deGrom and two home runs from Lucas Duda, perhaps the best thing was a base hit by the opposing team.
Matt Carpenter’s single in the second at-bat of the game saved Collins, the Mets’ manager, from an agonizing decision and a barrage of double-edged flashbacks.
After that hit by Carpenter, deGrom went on to produce one of the finest performances this pitching-rich franchise has seen, setting down the next 23 batters he faced in the Mets’ 5-0 win over the St.