Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom, who is famous for his mastery of the mound, saw an unusual first occur in his career: he did not register a single strikeout in a start.
In his 229th major league outing, the 36-year-old pitcher worked 5 1/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays without striking out a hitter, a career aberration for one of the most prolific pitchers in MLB.
DeGrom's Uneventful Performance: No Ks for the Strikeout King
For a pitcher who has a career strikeout rate of 30.9%, deGrom's outing on Monday was shocking. The two-time Cy Young awardee allowed five hits, two walks, and two runs—a Daulton Varsho solo home run and a sacrifice fly during a 2-1 Globe Life Field loss. Even with a good performance, the lack of strikeouts was the subject of the night, Sports Illustrated reported.
"They were putting a lot of balls in play early. So, I was like, oh man, I might be able to go deep in this game ... let's see how deep I can go in this and try to keep them off the board. Fighting myself, started yanking the ball, walked a couple guys, just wasn't very efficient," deGrom, who first played as shortstop, said.
Kevin Gausman Pitches Dominantly on the Other Side
As deGrom was fighting with location, Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman delivered a masterclass. The righty threw 72 of 96 pitches for strikes and fanned six in eight innings. His efficiency was on full display, sending first-pitch strikes to 26 of 29 batters and only needing 12 pitches to get through the first two innings.
Being able to pound those guys early opened up a lot later in the game," Gausman said.
Bochy Plays It Safe with deGrom's Workload
Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy opted to remove deGrom after 81 pitches in the sixth inning, referencing the pitcher's heavy workload recently. Only five days earlier, deGrom pitched 103 times against the Yankees and reached the 90-pitch mark in his last two appearances.
Bochy praised deGrom's good work, but in the close ballgame, he said the other pitcher was just "very good."
No Injury Concerns, Just Mechanical Issues
In contrast to his Sept. 2020 debut in Philadelphia, when a spasm of his hamstring kept him to only a single strikeout, this outing sent no warning signals regarding deGrom's well-being. According to The Associated Press, the grizzled right-hander has now recorded 63 1/3 innings across 11 starts this year, about the same as the 64 1/3 innings he pitched in his last year with the Mets in 2022.
"I feel good. I was just fighting myself today, flying open," deGrom said. "It's something I've been working on almost every start. And today, it kind of took a step in the wrong direction. So I wasn't able to really locate down and pitch off that with my slider."
DeGrom signed a five-year, $185 million free-agent contract with the Rangers and has not been able to remain healthy consistently. But for all of the occasional stinker of an outing, his stuff is still electric, and there is no reason to panic yet.
If anything, Monday's game was just a reminder of how rarely even the best players in the game have an off game.
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