Jacob deGrom caught Yu Darvish and Yasmani Grandal by surprise on Friday night. In the third inning of the team’s series opener, the Mets’ right-hander laced a single to left field for his 13th hit of the year, then hustled to second base on a pitch to Asdrubal Cabrera. The stolen base was the first of his career, not only marking a personal milestone but also the second stolen base by a pitcher in 2017 — following Jon Lester‘s surprising steal against Julio Teheran in July — and the first by a Mets’ hurler since Oliver Perez stunned Johnny Cueto in 2008.
The Mets stranded their pitcher to end the inning, and Darvish kept the Dodgers’ 2-0 lead intact after whiffing Cabrera and inducing a lineout from Jay Bruce for the third out. DeGrom, meanwhile, was similarly frustrated on the mound after pairing an eight-strikeout effort with three runs, five hits and two home runs in five innings.
The Dodgers currently lead the Mets 5-0 in the top of the seventh inning.
