Streak Ended

Jacob de Grom came into Tuesday night's start owning a remarkable and historic streak:  not allowing more than three runs in 26 consecutive starts. That tied him with Hall of Famer Bob Gibson for such a run of excellence.

Yet, it was clear as he struggled during the top of the 1st inning on a damp and chilly Citi Field night that the Mets ace didn't have his A-game. He worked in and out of trouble. An inning later, his consecutive-inning scoreless streak ended at 27 when catcher Mitch Garver homered. Just one run, not a crisis.

But the 3rd inning appeared to be scripted by Rod Serling -- with de Grom wandering into his own Twilight Zone. Bill Mumy or Bill Shatner weren't the co-stars, Instead, with one out, Jorge Polanco tripled and quickly scored on a wild pitch with Williams Astudillo at bat. He singled; Eddie Rosario followed with a stunning home run (the follow through on that swing is atop this page), the second of the game -- something that never happened during his Cy Young season in 2018. It was 4-3 Minnesota. The three-and-under-run was done. The barrage wasn't over -- Garver followed with his second home run of the game. 5-3 Twins. They went on to win 14-8, as the Mets bats woke up against Kyle Gibson and the Minnesota bullpen, while the Twins kept raking against New York's relievers.

De Grom allowed another run in the 4th, before being lifted for a pinch hitter. Hardly, the night he expected. Perhaps a moment to pause and catch his breath -- and prepare for Sunday with a clean sheet of paper when he'll pitch in prime time against the Braves.