Raining on Jacob deGrom’s parade

Don’t look now, but the weather may have a small vendetta against Mets ace Jacob deGrom. 

Whenever it rains, it usually spells trouble for a starter. Pitching later in the evening, extended bullpen sessions, long gaps between pitches, and a wet mound can all doom an outing. 

This is where deGrom comes in. He’s been the victim of nasty weather all year. He didn’t have just one start affected by rain or even two. Try four starts in the rain, four consecutive starts no less. 

His first two spoiled starts were before his recent injury scare against the Twins and Braves. He combined to pitch just nine innings while giving up nine runs. His next outing was nearly two weeks later and he only went four innings in the rain while giving up five runs.

Things started to turn around during his Wednesday night start against the Reds. A steady shower blanketed New York City as he threw seven scoreless innings. Sounds like he turned a corner right? Wrong because of course the Mets bats refused to come to life and deGrom came out with a no-decision. 

Of course, there’s know way to know for sure whether deGrom’s bad stretch came from the weather, his injury, or just bad luck, but four straight starts hurt by rain is definitely one of baseballs more ironic stories.