It was another notch on Jacob deGrom's belt.
Days after a video of deGrom adjusting his belt in between pitches went viral and caused minor controversy amid baseball's scandal involving pitchers' use of foreign substances, the two-time Cy Young winner responded by tossing another gem in what has been a season full of them.
DeGrom allowed just one hit and struck out 10 over six shutout innings, retiring the first 13 batters he faced, in the Mets' 3-2 win over the Padres. He lowered his ERA from 0.62 to 0.56 -- the lowest ERA through 10 starts since earned runs became an official stat in 1913, per MLB Stats.
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DeGrom also belted a two-run single to the opposite field, pushing his batting average to .400 and giving him more RBIs this season (5) than earned runs (4).
Opponents have been limited to one earned run or fewer in each of deGrom's 10 starts this season, extending the major league record to begin the season. He extended his consecutive scoreless streak to 22 innings.
DeGrom (6-2) exited after throwing just 80 pitches, leaving the Mets a 3-0 lead. It was later announced that he left the game due to right flexor tendonitis, an injury that potentially could pause his historic season if an IL stint is needed.
"I felt it this week in between," deGrom told reporters after the game. "I'm not too concerned about it because it didn't get much worse as the game went on. There in the sixth inning when I was trying to loosen up I could feel it and it was tightening up a little bit. But I've had a couple of elbow issues before and I know what that feels like. So my level of concern is not too high. I'm pretty optimistic about it and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be something that we can treat and hopefully not miss any time."