After 11 months of operating in his own galaxy, with another set of rules, Jacob deGrom re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere headfirst Tuesday night and ended up tasting dirt.
DeGrom’s streak of excellence — 26 consecutive quality starts, which had tied Bob Gibson’s all-time record — concluded without much drama. The Twins battered the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner early in sending the Mets to a second straight loss, 14-8 at Citi Field.
“I was bad out there,” deGrom said. “That’s all there is to it.”
Six days after dominating the lowly Marlins, establishing a career high with 14 strikeouts, deGrom failed to survive beyond the fourth inning. In all he surrendered six earned runs, including three homers, for his first non-quality start since last May 13. A quality start is defined as a pitcher going at least six innings and allows three earned runs or fewer. Also, deGrom’s streak of starts in which he allowed three runs or fewer ended at 31 — a major league record. During that stretch he pitched to a 1.48 ERA.
“We found out he’s human, finally,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “I didn’t think he was for a while.”
The Mets (6-4) kept it interesting into the late innings. Included was rookie Pete Alonso’s two homers in the last three innings for the first multi-homer game of his career. The teams combined for 10 homers, setting a Citi Field record.
But for all his offensive thunder, Alonso’s fielding error in the eighth helped the Twins score three unearned runs. Jason Vargas pitched the ninth and allowed four additional runs.
DeGrom (2-1) was finished after four innings in which he allowed six earned runs on eight hits and one walk. It was his worst start since Sept. 5, 2017, when he allowed nine runs — three of which were unearned — over 3 ²/₃ innings in a loss to the Phillies.
A deGrom scoreless streak that had reached 27 innings, dating to last season, concluded in the second, when Mitch Garver hammered a slider over the center-field fence leading off. DeGrom’s streak was the eighth-longest in franchise history. R.A. Dickey holds the Mets record with 32 ²/₃ straight scoreless innings in 2012.
“I just couldn’t locate anything,” deGrom said. “I was all over the place. My slider wasn’t even a factor tonight.”
DeGrom’s night came unraveled in the third, when Eddie Rosario belted a three-run homer, giving the Twins a 4-1 lead and ending the right-hander’s chances of recording a 27th consecutive quality start that would have pushed him ahead of Gibson, who established his mark with the Cardinals in 1967-68. Garver followed Rosario’s blast with his second homer of the game, adding to deGrom’s misery.
“The whole time I was still believing I would find it,” deGrom said. “It just didn’t happen.”
DeGrom was asked if he could appreciate his historical stretch.
“Maybe in a few days,” he said. “I’m not real happy with how tonight went.”
The Twins finished their rampage against deGrom in the fourth on Max Kepler’s RBI single that put the Mets in a 6-3 hole.
Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto each blasted a solo homer in the third, pulling the Mets within 5-3. Conforto’s homer was his third in as many games, and Nimmo’s blast was his first of the season.
Kyle Gibson was knocked out in the fifth after loading the bases on Nimmo’s leadoff double and walks to Conforto and J.D. Davis. But Jeff McNeil was retired by Trevor Hildenberger to keep Minnesota’s lead at 6-3.
Jonathan Schoop blasted the Twins’ fourth homer of the game, a solo shot against Seth Lugo in the sixth, to sink the Mets into a 7-3 hole.
Alonso homered in the seventh and ninth innings for the Mets to become the first Mets player with five homers in 10 games to begin his career.