New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom pitched four innings Thursday for Triple-A Syracuse in his third rehab start, striking out four and allowing two hits and an unearned run against Jacksonville, the Miami Marlins' Triple-A affiliate.

DeGrom threw 42 pitches, 29 for strikes.

"I feel good," deGrom said after leaving the game. "Felt a little out of whack the first two innings and I tried to make a little bit of an adjustment. I wasn't locating my fastball quite like I wanted to early on but then the last couple of innings felt a lot better."

DeGrom's catcher in the game was Francisco Alvarez, the top prospect in the Mets' system and one of the top prospects in Major League Baseball.

"He did a good job. He came up to me before the game and asked what I wanted to do and was a nice target back there," deGrom said.

DeGrom's first two rehab starts were for Single-A St. Lucie. In his three rehab starts he has 15 strikeouts in 8⅔ innings and has hit 100 mph on the radar gun in all three starts.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner has been sidelined all season with a stress reaction in his right scapula that caused inflammation but appears to be on track to return to the major leagues by late July.