PHILADELPHIA — Before the All-Star break last week, Jacob deGrom sat down with Mets Manager Terry Collins to discuss his coming pitching schedule. After a slow start to the season, deGrom had found his groove. But he admitted to Collins that he was tired. To get deGrom rest, the Mets slotted him near the back of their rotation as the season resumed.
On Sunday, making his first start in a week and a half, deGrom dominated. In a 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, deGrom tossed a one-hit shutout, the first complete game of his career and the first by a Met this season. He needed 105 pitches to record 27 outs.
“Definitely fun, and hopefully I have many more,” he said.
The only hit deGrom allowed was a third-inning ground-ball single by Zach Eflin, the Phillies’ starter, which made deGrom the fifth Mets starter in history to toss a complete game in which the only hit he allowed was by the opposing pitcher.
DeGrom allowed only one other base runner — on a walk by Ryan Howard in the eighth inning — but he erased that by inducing a double play.
“I knew who got the hit off me,” deGrom said. “Once he got the hit, that thought is out of your mind. Then you’re going for the shutout.”
Over his last nine starts, deGrom has a 1.92 E.R.A. In that stretch of 61 innings, he has struck out 68 batters and walked 12.
With Sunday’s gem, his season E.R.A. fell to 2.38, the best mark in a Mets rotation that has been overshadowed by the team’s injuries.
“He hasn’t flown under the radar for us,” Collins said. “His name was heavily in contention to go to the All-Star Game. We just thought he needed the break.”
In spring training and at the start of the season, deGrom’s pitches were slower than normal, and he posted a 3.86 E.R.A. in May. In general, his results were still solid, but deGrom, who carried a large load last season, acknowledged that he was dealing with inconsistencies in his mechanics. As he waited for his velocity to recover, he learned how to pitch, he said, rather than merely trying to overpower batters, as he sometimes did last season.
“Having to do that quite a bit this year helped me when my stuff was better today,” he said.
DeGrom’s workload last year was a factor in the dip. He tossed 191 innings in the regular season — an increase of more than 50 innings from 2014 — while posting a 2.54 E.R.A. as the Mets’ best starter. He then pitched another 25 innings in the playoffs and had a short off-season after the Mets’ run to the World Series.
“One-hundred sixty-two games is a lot,” deGrom said of this season. “We’re over halfway through. You start to feel things and get a little worn out. I definitely think that break was needed for me.”
As this season has progressed, deGrom’s velocity has picked up, as has his performance. On Sunday, he located 95-mile-per-hour fastballs with ease. His secondary pitches kept the overmatched Phillies off balance.
“His pitches were doing good movement down there,” catcher Rene Rivera said. “We figured out that he was going to have a good day.”
DeGrom pitched deep into the game with the help of a better sinker and induced 10 ground balls. He needed 17 pitches to get through the first inning, but his efficiency improved when he corrected how he was landing on the mound in his delivery. By the end of the sixth inning, deGrom had thrown only 68 pitches.
“Now it has more down movement like last year,” deGrom said of his sinker. “Just staying on top of the baseball. When I fly open, it just runs over the middle.”
Backed by an offense that had Yoenis Cespedes returning, deGrom had plenty of support. Juan Lagares notched a run-scoring triple in the second inning. Curtis Granderson, who has hit well over the past month, smashed a solo home run in the third inning.
DeGrom even flashed his athleticism on the bases, singling in the fifth inning and scoring on a double by Jose Reyes.
Asdrubal Cabrera broke open the game with a two-run homer in the eighth inning that gave deGrom a five-run cushion. The homer-happy Mets improved to 44-18 in games in which they hit at least one home run.
DeGrom took the mound in the ninth inning with his pitch count at 89. He told himself to minimize the situation and treat it like the first inning of the game. He induced two groundouts and struck out Odubel Herrera for the final out. DeGrom spun around on the mound and then hugged Rivera.
“I was hoping I’d have one like this, where you go out there and everything is working,” deGrom said. “But it’s part of the game. You don’t always feel good when you go out there, so you’ve got to find a way. Today I was fortunate enough to feel good.”