The Texas Rangers hope the “vintage” Jacob deGrom returns for his next start on Saturday evening against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The 38-year-old deGrom (10-9, 4.00 ERA) is scheduled to start in the third game of a four-game series in Arlington, Texas, five days after the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner pitched one of the best games of his career.
The Rangers and Rays have split the first two games of the series.
deGrom allowed one hit and faced the minimum of 21 batters over seven innings in an 8-1 win against the visiting Athletics on Monday, becoming the first Rangers pitcher to face the minimum through seven innings since Jon Gray on June 7, 2023, against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“That was vintage deGrom tonight,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He had his explosive fastball. The slider was anywhere from 94 (mph). I saw one against (Jeff) McNeil that just turned left. I thought he was probably at his best tonight.”
It marked the eighth time this season that the right-hander didn’t issue a walk, and the third outing in which he surrendered just one hit.
“It’s special watching him cruise like that,” Rangers first baseman Jake Burger said. “That’s why he’s one of the greats.”
The Rangers (70-72) sensed something special was brewing with deGrom after he surrendered eight runs in 3 2/3 innings in his previous start Aug. 25 against the Chicago White Sox, an outing that led to an 11-7 loss.
“I’m pretty frustrated after most rough starts, but that one was really bad,” deGrom said. “We can’t afford to have those kinds of starts. That really bothered me. We needed to go out there and win games there, and I had an absolute terrible start. I needed to turn the page and prepare for this one. Hopefully, moving forward, I can continue to throw the ball how I expect to.”
Texas manager Skip Schumaker said he would like to see more consistency from deGrom, as well, as the Rangers chase a playoff berth. Texas stands three games out of first place in the American League West, behind the Houston Astros, and two games out of the AL’s final wild-card spot.
“There’s been some really good starts, and then there’s been some ones that he would tell you that have not been so great,” Schumaker said. “After the last one, I felt like (against the A’s) was going to be a really good day, just because he was so mad at what happened.
“When you have a competitor like Jacob, who is pretty upset at the previous game or previous start, you knew that he was going to come in with a different type of mentality and be on the attack. And that’s exactly what he did.”
The Rays (84-57) are one of the few MLB teams deGrom has not defeated in his career. He’s 0-1 in four starts with a 3.00 ERA against them.
Tampa Bay, which has the best record in the AL, plans to start right-hander Drew Rasmussen (14-5, 2.95 ERA) on Saturday. He went 5-0 in six starts in August while posting a 2.57 ERA.
Rasmussen’s most recent start last Sunday is the only one in which he did not earn a victory last month. He allowed two runs and four hits in six innings of a 5-4 win against the San Diego Padres in 11 innings, helping his team complete a sweep.
“This is a series we can point to and tell our guys who haven’t experienced postseason baseball, ‘Every day is like this,'” Rasmussen said. “It’s a roller-coaster ride. Games are close, and you win on the margins.”
Rasmussen has made three starts in his career against the Rangers, going 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA. He most recently faced them on June 3, 2025, and threw five shutout innings in a 5-1 victory.
–Field Level Media
