NEW YORK – Jacob deGrom struck out 12 batters and carried a perfect game into the sixth inning of his second start all season, pitching the New York Mets past the Atlanta Braves 5-2 on Sunday for their 12th victory in 14 games.
Pete Alonso drove in two runs, and the first-place Mets finished with 19 strikeouts – including three straight from closer Edwin Díaz to end a combined two-hitter. New York took four of five from the Braves in their National League East showdown series, extending its division lead to 6 1/2 games over the reigning World Series champions.
The Braves are also the four-time reigning champions in the division, but the Mets took a big step toward knocking them from that perch – and deGrom put the finishing touch on a series victory that was already clinched with Saturday’s doubleheader sweep.
“It was kind of emotional walking out there. I haven’t taken this mound in over a year,” deGrom said. “I had to take a second and kind of get myself together.”
Pitching at home for the first time in 13 months, a dominant deGrom (1-0) retired his first 17 batters – 12 on strikeouts – before walking No. 9 hitter Ehire Adrianza with two outs in the sixth. That ended the longest perfect-game bid of deGrom’s career.