By The Associated Press
Jacob deGrom was pulled after four dominant innings with a hyperextended right elbow, and the Atlanta Braves broke out against the bullpen to back a stellar start by Sean Newcomb and beat the New York Mets 7-0 on Wednesday night at Citi Field.DeGrom got 12 outs on 46 pitches and pitched smoothly through the heart of Atlanta's order in his final inning. Yet he was replaced by Paul Sewald to begin the fifth. The Mets telecast showed deGrom marching frustrated back to the clubhouse, glove hand on his head.
DeGrom entered the game with a 3-0 record and 2.06 ERA. On Wednesday night, he allowed just two hits, struck out six and extended his scoreless inning streak to 18 1/3.
He injured the elbow while striking out in the third inning. He, however, managed to pitch one more inning after that.
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"He came in and said, 'My arm hurts on that last swing, so I am not going to swing the rest of the night,'" Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "He said it feels fine throwing, he hadn't had any issues throwing, so he went back out."
DeGrom will undergo an MRI on Thursday. Atlanta also had an injury concern when shortstop Dansby Swanson was lifted in the sixth inning with a sore left wrist. The Braves said it was a precautionary measure.Upstart Atlanta (18-11) overtook the Mets for first place in the NL East behind seven innings of two-hit ball from Newcomb (2-1). The 24-year-old retired his final 14 batters, struck out eight and walked none on 97 pitches. Atlanta's starters entered with a 2.67 ERA over their previous 23 games.Sam Freeman and Peter Moylan wrapped up Atlanta's three-hitter with an inning each.Sewald (0-2) allowed an RBI single to Freddie Freeman in the sixth and a two-run homer to Ender Inciarte in the seventh. Newcomb lined a double off the left field wall a pitch prior to Inciarte's shot to right.Sewald gave up three runs in three innings, and Robert Gsellman gave up back-to-back homers to Johan Camargo and Ryan Flaherty during a four-run eighth.Freeman and Nick Markakis each had three hits and an RBI for Atlanta. Baby Braves Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. both went 0-for-5.DIAMOND TROUBLEYoenis Cespedes snapped his glitzy necklace during a hard slide into second base in the first inning, scattering gems around the infield.Cespedes hustled into the bag after blooping a ball down the right field line, and second baseman Albies jumped over him while receiving a throw from the outfield. Cespedes was stretching after the play when he noticed one of his necklaces was broken, pulled it off his neck and furiously threw it to the ground.The Mets telecast showed what appeared to be diamonds glistening in the dirt near the bag. A half-inning later, New York second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera and second base umpire Bill Welke stooped around the base, apparently picking up pieces of the necklace.
WFAN.com contributed to this report.
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