ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers fans were excited this off-season when the team signed free-agent righthander Jacob deGrom to be the ace of their pitching staff. That excitement turned into fear and trepidation when deGrom started off Spring Training with an injury, and there were concerns about whether or not he would begin the season on time.
But he was able to come back, and new Rangers manager Bruce Bochy named deGrom the opening-day starter.
On Thursday afternoon, Rangers fans got their first glimpse at their new ace in their home opener, and what started off as a positive first performance for Jacob deGrom quickly turned into a nightmare.
Brice Paterik, the host of the Locked On Rangers podcast, discussed deGrom’s first outing on the latest episode of his show.
This is how he described deGrom’s first batter of the first inning: “It was breathtaking. It was artwork. It was mastery of a craft. Jacob deGrom versus Trea Turner, the hottest hitter in the world versus the best pitcher in baseball. It was everything you want, and it was over in three pitches. Good morning, good afternoon, and goodnight.”
Unfortunately for the Rangers and their fans, that was deGrom’s only good inning. He surrendered five runs in three and two-third innings against the Phillies. All six hits he gave up were for extra bases, including a home run off the bat of Alec Bohm, and it was the first time he had deGrom had given up that many base hits in one start.
The Phillies were a single away from a team cycle off deGrom because Turner and Brandon Marsh hit back-to-back triples off the righty in the top of the third inning. One positive for deGrom? He didn’t walk anyone.
The Rangers ultimately made a comeback and won the game 11-7, but should their fans be worried about their ace? Paterik doesn’t think so.
He cited how deGrom’s velocity was high. He hit 101, 100, and 99.7 mph three times. He also led the game with 10 swings and misses. So while giving up six extra-base hits and not being able to finish four innings is worrisome, Jacob deGrom is a good pitcher, and he’s a veteran pitcher who occasionally has outings like the one he had on Thursday.
deGrom said after the game that he didn’t feel comfortable after that strong first inning and he was missing his spots. He also said the Phillies batters were hitting the ball well and he couldn’t make any adjustments. deGrom faced the Phillies a lot as a member of the New York Mets, so there was some familiarity on both sides and this time, the Phillies came out on top.
Bochy said after the game, “You won’t see this very often. But it's why you play the game. He (deGrom) started battling quite a bit there and he kept fighting and the pitch count caught up with him. But again, it's not going to happen very often.”
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