A win for Jacob deGrom and Rangers with his 30th start of ’25 after 4 injury-plagued seasons

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jacob deGrom struck out eight over five innings in his 30th and final start of the season for the Texas Rangers, in what was a victory even though he didn’t get one.

The 37-year-old lanky right-hander, their only All-Star this season, made all but one of his starts this year while throwing 172 2/3 innings after missing most of his first two seasons with the Rangers because of Tommy John surgery.

“Getting to the 170 (innings) and making 30 starts is probably what I’m most proud of,” deGrom said after a no-decision in the Rangers’ 4-2 win over Minnesota on Wednesday night. “I feel like I could keep running out there. So that’s a positive too, ending where I feel like I could still make at least a handful of starts.”

DeGrom finished 12-8 with a 2.97 ERA and 185 strikeouts.

Even though the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner won only two of his final 10 starts, it was a solid comeback season for deGrom, who had made only 35 starts and pitched 197 1/3 innings combined the previous four seasons.

“It’s a win. It’s an absolute win for the organization, for Jacob,” Chris Young, the team’s president of baseball operations, said before the game. “If you had told me before the year that he would have 30 starts, I would be thrilled, and I am. …. To see him get 30 starts and have the year he’s had, it’s pretty special.”

A night after Texas was eliminated from playoff contention with its eighth consecutive loss, the game was tied 1-1 when deGrom threw the last of his 74 pitches. He allowed only one more hit and walked one after Bryon Buxton led off with a 447-foot home run to straightaway center on the second pitch of the game.

Robert Garcia took over on the mound to start the sixth inning, and got the win.

“For him to make 30 starts, when we were in spring training, we weren’t sure if that was going to be the case. Thought we might have to cover him,” manager Bruce Bochy said of deGrom. “And look at his stuff in his 30th start, he’s hitting 99 (mph) and maintained it.”

The Rangers did give deGrom an extended break between starts around the All-Star Game, when he went but didn’t pitch in Atlanta. The only time they actually skipped him was Aug. 20 with shoulder fatigue. He got an extra day before starting Wednesday, instead of Tuesday and then potentially again in the season finale Sunday at Cleveland.

“We were talking about skipping some here and there, but felt pretty good the whole way through,” deGrom said. “There was never really a hard number of, hey, we’re going to stop here. It was kind of based on how I felt. … There were times recently this year I pitched when I was a little bit sore. And that’s fine. The major injuries are what set me back.”

DeGrom’s final two years with the New York Mets were plagued by injury before he left in free agency after the 2022 season. He then had Tommy John surgery after only six starts in his Rangers debut in 2023, the season of their only World Series title. They won each of his starts that all came before the end of April that year.

The $185 million, five-year deal deGrom signed with Texas included a conditional sixth-year club option worth at least $20 million and up to $37 million for 2028 that has been triggered because of the time missed injured.

After making three starts in the final month of the 2024 season, deGrom had a full offseason to prepare for this season.

“I believed in him the whole time that he’d have a full season this year,” Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said. “He was an All-Star, he was our ace the entire year. … The second year after Tommy John is usually better than the first, so that’s what I’m excited to see.”

Earlier this season, deGrom set a Rangers franchise record with 14 consecutive starts going at least five innings and not giving up more than two runs. That same span was the longest streak by any traditional starter (not including openers) in the modern era since 1900 of not allowing more than six hits and two runs in a game, according to STATS.

He also came the closest he ever has to a no-hitter when allowing only a leadoff single in the eighth inning June 25 at Baltimore, a month after the only start in his career without a strikeout.

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