When Jacob deGrom took the mound last night, he was following what was the greatest start of his already-sterling career. In a complete game shutout against the Nationals, he had struck out 15 and gave up only two hits. There were only a few ways he could have an even better performance, and most anything else would be seen by some as a lesser performance from him.
With these lofty expectations, deGrom made his fifth start of the season against the Boston Red Sox. Whether it was after effects of the lengths he went to in his previous start or just an off day for him, he was slightly less sharp this time around.