ARLINGTON, Texas — Jacob deGrom came into Thursday night 2 strikeouts short of 2,000 for his career and got both in the first two batters of the game. Daylen Lile struck out swinging. Abimelec Ortiz, who came up through the Texas system, struck out swinging behind him, and deGrom tipped his cap to the crowd at Globe Life Field.
The Texas Rangers beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 in the series finale. deGrom went 6 innings and allowed 1 hit, 0 runs, and 1 walk with 10 strikeouts, matching his season high. Four Texas pitchers combined on a one-hitter.
The group in the Rangers clubhouse is pulling for each other through the playoff race, deGrom said, and Skip Schumaker has done a tremendous job with it this season.
“It was a very special moment,” deGrom said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play this game for a while, and like I told the guys in there, so excited to be here and do it with that group. We got each other’s backs. We gotta play really good baseball from here on out and try to get in the playoffs. That’s the main goal right now, and hopefully do something special in October.”
“So obviously personal accomplishments are really cool, but to go out there and put us in a position to win was the main goal,” deGrom continued. “So getting that 2,000th was obviously a very cool personal accomplishment for me. And it was funny, Corey, before I walked out there, he goes, ‘How about we get this done quick?’ So I got to give him some credit for that.”
deGrom is the 95th pitcher in major league history to reach 2,000 strikeouts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He is the ninth active pitcher to get there. Aaron Nola reached the mark Aug. 8, which made deGrom the second to do it this season.
The 2,000th came in deGrom’s 272nd game. Only Randy Johnson got there faster, in 262. deGrom needed 1,661 innings, second behind Chris Sale at 1,626.
He has 2,008 career strikeouts in 1,666 1/3 innings since his debut in 2014. The two-time Cy Young Award winner is 9-8 this season.
Three pitchers since 1972 have recorded a 2,000th career strikeout in a Rangers uniform, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins did it Aug. 31, 1974, against Cleveland at Arlington Stadium. Cole Hamels did it June 12, 2016, in Seattle.
Jacob deGrom’s Slider And A Thursday Bullpen Session
Flying open at random points this season took something off deGrom’s fastball, and off the slider behind it. He tried a fix in his bullpen Thursday afternoon with Rangers pitching coach Jordan Tiegs watching.
“I’ve been working on my mechanics all year, and my front side, when it flies open, the slider, I kind of get around,” deGrom explained. “So I had a thought this morning of something I wanted to try to do, and in the bullpen I threw a couple. They had the TrackMan set up, and Tiegs was like, ‘Hey, that’s like your game slider,’ where in the bullpen I’ve been struggling to throw it like I throw it in the game.”
“So it was better down there, and I was like, all right, don’t try to do too much with it, just start it as a strike and hopefully get some swings on it,” deGrom added. “So it was a thought of like staying back over the rubber a little bit longer and not flying open, and that translated pretty well to the game today.”
deGrom threw 94 pitches. Thursday was the third start of his career with 6 or more scoreless innings, 1 or fewer hits, and 10 or more strikeouts. The first two came with the Mets.
His return to the rotation came a week after right triceps fatigue ended his Aug. 13 start in Anaheim after 2 innings. Washington’s only hit Thursday was a second-inning single by Brady House, who also drew deGrom’s lone walk.
Corey Seager’s Home Run And A Texas Rangers One-Hitter
Texas will need deGrom down the stretch, Corey Seager said, and the fastball was the pitch Thursday.
“It was a really cool night for him,” Seager said. “We’ve been waiting on this one for a couple starts now, so I’m glad he finally got it out of the way. I’m glad to be a part of it. It was a really special moment.”
Seager hit an opposite-field home run off Andrew Alvarez in the third inning for the first Texas run. He finished 2-for-4 with a double.
Ezequiel Duran tripled in the eighth and scored on Nicky Lopez‘s sacrifice fly. Duran walked twice and went 2-for-4. Justin Foscue went 2-for-2 with a double.
Texas finished with 6 hits and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Alvarez worked 5 innings for Washington and gave up 4 hits, 1 earned run, and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts.
Jakob Junis, Chase Silseth, and Jacob Latz each threw a scoreless inning behind deGrom. Latz struck out 3 in the ninth for his 25th save in 28 chances. It was the 12th shutout of the season for Texas.
Schumaker faced deGrom during his playing career and never struck out against him. What he is watching now from his seat, Schumaker said, is a Hall of Famer.
“It’s Chris Sale and deGrom, that’s it right now, at that age, doing it still at this elite level,” Schumaker said. “It just means he’s done it for a long time at an extremely high level. Today was kind of vintage deGrom. That’s what it looked like when I faced him back in the day. I’m not kidding you — that’s exactly how it looked. It was just a dominant performance.”
What’s Next For The Texas Rangers
Texas is 63-65 and back in a tie for the final American League wild card spot. The Rangers had dropped out of that spot Wednesday in a 6-0 loss to Washington.
The Nationals were shut out for the fifth time this season and for the second time in the three-game series. Texas won the opener 5-0 on Tuesday. Washington played Thursday without CJ Abrams, who sprained his left ankle Wednesday and is day to day.
MacKenzie Gore starts for Texas on Friday against Reid Detmers and the Los Angeles Angels. Gore is 7-9 with a 4.45 ERA, and Detmers is 4-8 with a 3.78 ERA. First pitch is 7:15 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field on Rangers Sports Network.
