Jacob deGrom is now the hopeful savior for the Mets after his rotation counterpart and co-ace Max Scherzer was lit up for four home runs, and deGrom hopes his start on Saturday is a chance to pay back what the rest of the rotation did for him while he was out for half the season.
"I missed half the year and these guys did a great job," deGrom said. "The other starters did a great job holding it down while me and Max missed some time. I wanted to come here and contribute as much as I could. Definitely a huge goal of mine to keep this going and pass it off to [Chris] Bassitt."
Will deGrom's bloody blister on his pitching hand be an issue like it was against the Braves. DeGrom doesn't see it being a problem at all.
"Finger's good. I feel really good," deGrom said. "Was able to get off the mound twice this week and felt great. I look back to that Atlanta start, and I made a couple mistakes that they capitalized on. Other than that, I feel like I threw the ball pretty well. The goal is to eliminate mistakes in big situations and stick to the game plan."
Considered by many to be the best pitcher on the planet when at his best, the Mets will need peak deGrom to avoid elimination on Saturday night. If not, it could be the potential free agent's final start in New York, but right now, he's focused on saving the season and making sure he will have a chance to pitch again.
"I said it before, I love pitching here," deGrom said. "This is a great atmosphere to play in and the fans have been great to me. So, I'm excited to go out there and see what I can do."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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