deGrom dominates, allowing 1 hit in 7 IP, in bounce-back gem

ARLINGTON -- Jacob deGrom was frustrated to say the least. Maybe the most frustrated he’s been as a member of the Rangers.

His last start was a career worst, when he allowed eight runs -- six in the first inning -- and shouldered the loss against the White Sox on Aug. 26. Honestly, he was more than frustrated that evening on the South Side, vehemently accepting blame for a team that needs all the wins it can get.

“I'm pretty frustrated after most rough starts, but that one was really bad,” deGrom said on Monday. “What, five walks? That was really frustrating. We can't afford to have those kinds of starts. That really bothered me. We needed to go out there and win games there, and I had an absolute terrible start. I needed to turn the page and prepare for this one. Hopefully, moving forward, I can continue to throw the ball how I expect to.”

“Moving forward” started on Monday.

The Rangers' ace dealt seven scoreless innings against the A’s on Monday night at Globe Life Field, carrying Texas to an 8-1 victory to open the homestand.

deGrom faced the minimum through his seven innings, allowing one hit, a Lawrence Butler single in the second, before getting the double-play ball to end that frame. It’s his eighth start this year without issuing a walk and the third in which he only allowed one hit.

“There's been some really good starts, and then there's been some ones that he would tell you that have not been so great,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “After the last one, I felt like today was going to be a really good day, just because he was so mad at what happened. When you have a competitor like Jacob, who is pretty upset at the previous game or previous start, you knew that he was going to come in with a different type of mentality and be on the attack. And that's exactly what he did.”

deGrom became the first Ranger to face the minimum through seven innings since Jon Gray on June 7, 2023 against the Cardinals. It was his seventh career outing in which he faced 21 batters through seven frames and his first since June 1, 2015 at San Diego as a member of the Mets.

It was as locked in as deGrom has looked during his Texas tenure. He was on the attack from the very beginning, finishing the top of the first inning with a swinging strikeout of Zack Gelof as his signature slider returned to looking like the best version of the pitch.

"That was vintage deGrom tonight,” said A’s manager Mark Kotsay. “He had his explosive fastball. The slider was anywhere from 94 [mph]. I saw one against [Jeff] McNeil that just turned left. I thought he was probably at his best tonight."

deGrom credited his pitch mix, coupled with the effectiveness of his slider, which he uncharacteristically struggled with in the Chicago loss. He was on the attack, throwing all his pitches for strikes, including the sinker (11 pitches), which he hadn't thrown 10 or more of in a start since Aug. 28, 2018.

This was the best version of deGrom. The one the Rangers need.

“It's special watching him cruise like that,” said Rangers first baseman Jake Burger. “That’s why he's one of the greats. We kind of expected it after the start in Chicago. We knew he was going to come back and you know be clicking on all cylinders today.”

The Rangers needed to come home. They needed a good start from their ace.

After yet another brutal road trip in which they went 2-4 between the South Side of Chicago and Milwaukee, getting back to Texas could only be a relief.

deGrom, frustration and all, made sure of that.

“There's definitely other players that get a lot more upset than Jacob deGrom,” Schumaker said. “But you can tell he was on a mission. Not a 'prove people wrong' type of thing, but he was just so upset about what happened in Chicago that you knew it was going to be a good day. I couldn't wait to watch, and it's exactly what I was hoping for.”