ARLINGTON — Something finally clicked for the Texas Rangers offense vs. the Athletics Tuesday at Globe Life Field. The result, after a month-long scuffle, was a cathartic release of runs, walks, two-out hits and heady at-bats.
That was good. The following could be better.
Something finally clicked for Jacob deGrom, too.
Well, technically, something clicked the day prior, when he played catch and identified the metaphorical thorn in his side that’s held him back from his best self.
“Oh,” deGrom said, “that feels right.”
Oh, it looked right, too.
It looked like Jacob deGrom.
“It’s different,” center fielder Leody Taveras said. “It’s like video games.”
The two-time Cy Young award winner pitched six scoreless innings in the Rangers’ 15-2 win vs. the Athletics Tuesday night at Globe Life Field to earn his first win since April 23, 2023.
He struck out seven batters, walked none and gave up just four hits. He reached 99 mph on the radar gun for the first time this season, had the most success he’s had all year with his fastball, which he threw 34 times at an average of 96.7 mph, and now owns a 2.73 ERA after six starts.
“Pretty good pitcher, I would say,” catcher Jonah Heim said. “He had command of all his stuff. I think the biggest thing today was he didn’t miss over the plate. He had competitive misses and his strikes were right where he wanted them to be. When he’s doing that, he’s going to be pretty nasty.”
At his nastiest, he’s vindictive. Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers reached on a soft-hit infield single to begin the second inning. The next three Athletics batters were cut down by deGrom strikeouts. He struck center fielder JJ Bleday out on three pitches, second baseman Luis Urías on four and first baseman Nick Kurtz on four to strand Langeliers at first base.
He threw just 65 pitches in six innings and, according to manager Bruce Bochy, would have returned for the seventh had the Rangers not exploded for a six-run sixth inning that nullified the need for deGrom’s greatness.
A bases-clearing double for El Bombi!💪
— SportsDay Rangers (@dmn_rangers) April 30, 2025
(via @Rangers | #AllForTX )pic.twitter.com/PSpxPaPTrw
The 36-year-old, who has a 2.55 ERA in 15 career starts for the Rangers, battled his own mechanics in his first five starts this season. He was “flying open,” in his words, and it impacted his ability to properly pinpoint his pitches. He identified the cause when he played catch Monday and was able to implement a fix before Tuesday’s start.
“He’s had a couple good games, I thought, but he was really good tonight,” Bochy said. “I said, when the season started, it’s just going to get better with him as he builds his strength and stamina up.”
Only eight qualified starting pitchers in the American League allowed fewer earned runs in the season’s first month than deGrom did. Two of them — Tyler Mahle and Nathan Eovaldi — are his teammates.
The Rangers have a 3.14 ERA through their first 30 games, which is the fourth-best in baseball, and the sixth-best start to a season in franchise history. Only the 2013 team (3.02 ERA) were better through their first 30 games this century.
“I’m sure that’s surprising,” Bochy said before Tuesday’s game. “But at the same time, for us, it’s really encouraging. If we get this figured out on the offensive side, we could have some good runs ahead of us.”
Twitter: @McFarland_Shawn
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