Mets vs. Nationals Tuesday probable pitchers, odds: Jacob deGrom set at 6.5 strikeouts in season debut
Two-time NL Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom makes his season debut tonight at Washington.
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Tuesday is the MLB trade deadline, but no team is going to add a better pitcher than the Mets will tonight. Two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom will finally return from the injured list to make his season debut. deGrom last pitched a big-league game on July 7, 2021, and is set at Over/Under 6.5 strikeouts at Caesars Sportsbook for this game – he'll be on a pitch count. New York is a monster favorite at -320.
The 34-year-old right-hander was sidelined the final three months of last season with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow, then was shut down late in this year's spring training because of a stress reaction in his right scapula. He had a microscopic 1.08 ERA with 146 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 15 starts a year ago.
deGrom made four minor-league rehab starts totaling 12.2 innings and gave up five runs (four earned) and seven hits. He racked up 21 strikeouts and four walks, hitting 100 mph on the radar gun at times. The expectation is he will be capped in the 80-pitch range against the Nationals.
In evaluating what caused the stress reaction, deGrom said ramping up too quickly in spring training may have been a factor. He still plans to opt out of his contract after this season, although that could change if he gets hurt again. He is owed $30.5 million for 2023.
"I'm definitely excited," deGrom told reporters Sunday. "It's been a long time. This has been a pretty slow process of coming back, so excited to be out there. Nerves haven't really set in yet, but I'm sure Tuesday I'll be pretty nervous and I have a feeling it's going to feel like my debut."
deGrom is 9-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 133 career innings vs. Washington and 7-1 with a 2.80 ERA in 70.2 innings in D.C. Nationals star Juan Soto is 3-for-15 career off deGrom with a homer and three RBI, although there's a chance Soto will no longer be with the team by first pitch.
Other deGrom props: Yes to record a win at -105; Over/Under 3.5 hits allowed; O/U 1.5 walks; O/U 1.5 earned runs.
On the mound for the Nationals is Cory Abbott (0-0, 2.25 ERA in in four innings). He has made just one career big-league start. Abbott faced the Mets once in his career, allowing one run in two innings of work on June 16, 2021, at Citi Field.
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