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Jacob deGrom leaves start early, but not for the joyous reason you were thinking

Jacob deGrom

New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) delivers against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, April 8, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

AP

This morning we learned that Jacob deGrom was prepared to leave today’s Mets home opener early because his wife is due to have their baby at any minute and might have to split. Well, deGrom left early. Unfortunately it was not because of joyous good news. Rather, he left after six innings due to back tightness.

It sounds like it was a precautionary thing and it’s not as if he was going to go more than another inning at most in his first outing of the year. As it was, the results were good: one run over his six six innings with six strikeouts. His velocity, however, was a tad concerning, with deGrom sitting in the 91-93 m.p.h. range with his fastball. That’s what he was doing at Port St. Lucie, but it’s below his norms. Probably not a thing to get worked up over -- early season, cold weather starts aren’t always a great indicator of how a pitcher is doing -- but it’s worth making a mental note.