deGrom doesn’t skip beat as Mets get sweep

ATLANTA — Jacob deGrom displayed no signs of rust and the Mets tarnished Aaron Blair’s Major League debut with Sunday afternoon’s 3-2 win over the Braves to complete a three-game series sweep at Turner Field.

deGrom gained a one-run lead before throwing his first pitch and then quickly settled in as he limited the Braves to one run and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. This was just the second start of the season for the right-hander, who spent most of the past two weeks tending to a strained lat muscle and complications that followed his son’s birth.

Blair settled down after surrendering a first-inning run, but he faded in the sixth before seeing his debut conclude with Michael Conforto’s go-ahead double. The highly-regarded prospect surrendered three runs over 5 1/3 innings for the Braves, who have lost five straight since snapping their 0-9 start with a four-game win streak. The Mets have won eight of their past 10 games.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDNo soup for you!: While deGrom allowed the Braves to set the table, he would not allow them to eat. Making his first start since April 8, deGrom frustrated Atlanta’s No. 3 through 6 hitters. They went 3-for-12 (.250), with Freddie Freeman being retired on a pair of comebackers. Cleanup hitter Adonis Garcia had two singles, but never advanced past first, A.J. Pierzynski was 0-for-3 and grounded into a double play, while Kelly Johnson had one hit, an infield dribbler.

Not Free at last: Freeman hoped Saturday night’s two-hit game was a sign he was breaking out of his early-season funk. But the first baseman went hitless on Sunday and in the process did not take advantage of any of the three hits Daniel Castro notched in front of him. After Nick Markakis …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com