Jacob deGrom left Thursday night's start in Seattle with a 3-0 lead, 12 strikeouts and a familiar question hanging over the Texas Rangers' clubhouse: how much can a 38-year-old ace absorb in September while a playoff chase still has a pulse?
According to Dallas Sports Journal, deGrom worked six scoreless innings on one hit and no walks before exiting with groin tightness. He threw 92 pitches, 64 of them strikes, and still touched 99 mph. The Mariners scored four runs in the seventh, capped by Julio Rodríguez's three-run home run off Jakob Junis, and closed out a 4-3 win, CBS Sports reported.
Tightness that started covering first
Manager Skip Schumaker said the tightness began when deGrom covered first base. A trainer checked him in the sixth, and the right-hander came out after that inning rather than press further. Schumaker's assessment, per Dallas Sports Journal: "He wanted to keep going... Shows you where he's at, and how tough he is, still throwing 99 mph."
deGrom's own account lined up with that timeline. He said he felt good early, that the groin tightened in the fourth, that he told the staff he was fine, and that after the sixth he decided not to push it because he wanted to leave the team a chance to win.
The decision conserved him for what comes next; the bullpen could not hold the lead he left behind.
Dominance, then the only hit
The outing was classic late-form deGrom when the fastball-slider combination is sharp. He was perfect through five. Cole Young's single off the glove leading off the sixth was the only hit he allowed.
Twelve strikeouts were his most since September 2022 with the Mets, and he struck out eight of his first nine batters - the fifth time in his career he has opened a start that way, Dallas Sports Journal reported.
Seattle's Logan Gilbert answered with 11 strikeouts over seven innings. Both are Stetson alumni. Elias noted it was the first time two starters from the same college each recorded 10 or more strikeouts in the same game.
