SEATTLE — Jacob deGrom felt his groin tighten in the fourth inning Thursday afternoon at T-Mobile Park and told the Texas Rangers he was good to keep going. He finished 6 scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners with 12 strikeouts and left with a 3-0 lead. Seattle scored four runs off Jakob Junis in the seventh inning and won 4-3.
The Rangers bullpen was warming in the sixth while deGrom still had a perfect game, MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and Josh Kirshenbaum reported. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said the tightness began when deGrom ran to cover first base on a ground ball, and that it was the reason he and a trainer went to the mound in the sixth, Landry reported in a separate story. Schumaker said it was also why deGrom did not come back out for the seventh at 92 pitches, 64 of them strikes.
“He wanted to keep going,” Schumaker said. “Shows you where he’s at, and how tough he is, still throwing 99 mph.”
deGrom is 38 and in the fourth year of a five-year, $185 million contract. He is not overly concerned that the groin will become a lingering issue.
“I felt good early on,” deGrom said. “I was able to locate the ball well. When my groin tightened up in the fourth, I told them I was good to keep going. After the sixth, we were like, ‘Do we push here?’ Ultimately the decision was made to come out. I wanted to give the team a chance to win, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that today.”
For the fifth time in his career, deGrom struck out 8 of the first 9 batters he faced. He had 10 strikeouts through five perfect innings before Cole Young singled leading off the sixth on a line drive off his glove. It was the only hit deGrom allowed, and he did not walk a batter. The 12 strikeouts were his most in a game since Sept. 18, 2022, when he struck out 13 for the New York Mets against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Jacob deGrom Has Dealt With Knee, Hip, And Triceps Issues This Season
Neck stiffness scratched deGrom from his scheduled first start of the season on March 28. Before an April 6 start against Seattle at Globe Life Field, the Rangers said, he had mild right knee discomfort. He allowed 1 hit in that start, a first-inning homer by Cal Raleigh, with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts.
On July 7 against the Los Angeles Angels, deGrom left after five innings with what was initially described as a hip injury, according to Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News. Texas used the All-Star break to give the hip time. deGrom said a team doctor told him the hip was in an area that was not really going to get worse.
“I told [a team doctor] it’s something I can pitch with, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, it’s in an area where it’s not really going to get worse, it’s just what you can deal with,’” deGrom explained. “I said I can deal with it right now, and then the discussion becomes, do we take this extra time because we have it?”
On Aug. 13 in Anaheim, right triceps fatigue forced deGrom out of a start against the Angels after 2 innings and 53 pitches. In his next start, against the Washington Nationals, he allowed 1 hit over 6 scoreless innings and struck out 10. deGrom came into Thursday 10-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 27 starts. He had not finished the fourth inning of a road start since June 30, and his road ERA since the All-Star break was 15.00, according to MLB.com.
Logan Gilbert Faces Jacob deGrom For The Fourth Time This Season
Logan Gilbert (12-9) struck out a season-high 11 over 7 innings for Seattle. Gilbert and deGrom both attended Stetson University. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Thursday was the first time in major league history that two starters who entered the majors from the same college each struck out at least 10 batters in the same game. Mariners manager Dan Wilson said he did not expect either starter to make many mistakes.
“You could see that before the game even started: These guys are going to get after it, and they’re not going to make a lot of mistakes,” Wilson said. “They’re going to make hitters earn it.”
deGrom and Gilbert combined for 15 strikeouts through three innings, matching the most in the first three innings of a game in the past 50 years. Their 23 strikeouts were the most by two starters in a game since Aug. 12, 2024. Gilbert likes that the schedule has matched them up a few times this year.
“That was pretty fun,” Gilbert said. “It’s cool that it’s matched up that way a few times this year, too. As advertised for him; he’s a tough arm to go against.”
Thursday was the fourth meeting between the two this season. They faced each other twice in April and again July 26, and Texas won the first two before Seattle won the last two. Against Gilbert, deGrom’s job was to put up zeros.
“I knew he was throwing the ball well,” deGrom said. “We’ve matched up, what, three times this year? He’s been throwing the ball well, and I need to try to go out there and put up zeros and give us a chance.”
Young also made the final play at second base, fielding Jake Burger’s grounder and beating Evan Carter to the bag on a call upheld by video review. The whole afternoon moved quickly for him.
“Logan was shoving,” Young said. “deGrom was shoving, as well. Just a super quick game.”
Texas fell to 72-75, three games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West. The Rangers are two games back for the last American League wild card. They open a three-game series at the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, with first pitch at 8:40 p.m. CT at Chase Field. Texas has 15 games left.
