WASHINGTON — Jacob deGrom had backed himself into a corner. Eight straight balls after a leadoff single in the sixth inning loaded the bases, and with the Mets hanging onto a two-run lead, there was little room for error.
So deGrom became a magician.
The righty induced a weak pop-up from Ryan Zimmerman that was too shallow to become a sacrifice fly, got Howie Kendrick to line out right to Jose Reyes at shortstop, and finished off his act by painting the corner to strike out Trea Turner on three pitches.
The crowd of 42,477, which had started the sequence on its feet, was left stunned as deGrom made sure the day ended in a Mets win, 8-2, Thursday at Nationals Park.