jacob deGrom’s Unusual Start: No Strikeouts in Rangers’ Loss

⁢ Updated May 26, ⁤2025

Arlington, Texas — In a rare turn of events, Jacob deGrom, the Texas Rangers’ star pitcher and two-time Cy Young Award winner, had‍ a major league start without a single strikeout. This marked the first time in his career that deGrom failed to record a strikeout in a game.

“I actually didn’t know that,” deGrom said, learning of the ⁤statistic ⁣after the Rangers’ 2-1 loss ⁣to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.‍ He pitched 5⅓ innings. “they were aggressive early.”

Before this game, deGrom had a strikeout in each of his 228 career starts, ranking him tenth for the longest such streak since 1893, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Only Aaron⁢ Nola (277) and Zack Wheeler (270) have longer active streaks. Dwight gooden holds the record at 349.

This loss was deGrom’s first in his last seven starts. The 36-year-old right-hander is now 4-2 this season, having made 11 starts after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Daulton Varsho’s solo home run in the first inning and a sacrifice fly accounted for the Blue Jays’ runs against deGrom. He allowed five hits and walked two, throwing 81 pitches before‍ being relieved by manager Bruce Bochy in the sixth.

“They were putting a lot of balls in play⁢ early,” deGrom said. He added that he was trying to conserve pitches early in the game but struggled with his command later on.

Meanwhile, toronto’s ⁢Kevin Gausman delivered a stellar performance, throwing 72 of his 96 pitches for strikes. He achieved a career-high 89.7% first-pitch strike ‍rate, landing his first 14 ⁣pitches for strikes. Gausman (5-4) struck out six in eight innings.

“We got some good jam⁢ shots early⁤ in the game,” Gausman said, noting how early strikes helped him later in the game.

Bochy explained that deGrom’s recent workload influenced his decision to ⁤pull him from the ⁤2-1 game. DeGrom had thrown 103 pitches in his ⁢previous start against the New York Yankees.

“He’s been working pretty hard,” Bochy said. “It’s what we thought this game would be, a tight ballgame, two realy, really good pitchers going out there. They came out on the good end. …Jacob was good, their guy was really good.”

DeGrom, who has 1,728 career strikeouts, entered the game with a 30.9% career strikeout rate. His previous low was one strikeout against Philadelphia on Sept. ⁣16, 2020, when he left after two innings due to a hamstring issue.

DeGrom said he feels physically sound and isn’t ‍concerned about his workload. He pitched only 64⅓ innings in 2022 with the New⁣ York Mets due to a stress reaction in his scapula.

“I ⁤feel good. I was just fighting myself today, flying open,” deGrom said, adding that he needs ‍to⁤ improve his location and slider.

what’s next

The Rangers will look to bounce back in their next game, while deGrom aims to regain his strikeout form and improve his command on the mound. The team hopes for a strong performance from him in his upcoming starts as they continue their season.