Jacob deGrom Struggles in Rangers’ Loss to Angels

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jacob deGrom‘s winless streak continued as the Texas Rangers fell 4-0 to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. The All-Star pitcher, who last won a game on July 22, experienced frustration after giving up a home run on the first pitch during his first game in 10 days.

The 37-year-old deGrom, who had his last scheduled start skipped due to shoulder fatigue, saw his record drop to 0-4 in five starts since that last victory. He struck out seven batters while allowing two runs and three hits, needing 90 pitches to complete five innings of work.

“Tonight just was inconsistent the whole time. Missed with a lot of sliders, missed with fastballs, first pitch of the game threw right down the middle,” deGrom said. “Just kind of all over the place, so that was frustrating.”

This was deGrom’s first start after throwing five scoreless innings on August 15 against Toronto, where he left with a 3-0 lead but did not earn a decision in a 6-5 loss.

Following a leadoff homer from Angels’ Zach Neto, deGrom showed signs of resilience, retiring ten batters in a row during the game. However, he admitted he was missing many of his spots with both his slider and changeup, contributing to his elevated pitch count.

Despite struggles on the mound, deGrom expressed confidence in his physical condition, having pitched 145 1/3 innings this season, his most since 2019. That year, he won his second consecutive NL Cy Young Award.

“He’ll keep making his starts until we think he needs a break like we just gave him a break,” said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy. “He’s healthy, he feels good. As long as that’s the case, he’s going to be out there.”

The Rangers, in pursuit of a wild-card spot with under five weeks remaining in the regular season, need deGrom to regain his form. “The goal is to take the ball as many times as I can, and feel good,” he said. “So try to continue to take the ball and just do a better job when I’m out there.”