ARLINGTON — Jacob deGrom sat at the podium, Texas Rangers branded-banner behind him, crossed his arms and tersely blamed himself for Saturday’s loss three times in a two-minute span.
“When I needed to make pitches, I didn’t make pitches,” deGrom said with an air of frustration not often expressed this season. “We lost the game because of that.”
The loss is on deGrom’s ledger for a third-straight start, the first time that’s happened to him in six seasons, but Saturday’s 3-2 loss vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field also included the all-too identifiable traits that have sunk the Rangers often this season.
See photos of Texas Rangers loss to Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field
View Gallery
Rangers
The Rangers scored early vs. Philadelphia left-hander Jesús Luzardo, stranded runners on base beyond that and did some, but not enough, to mount a late rally. Successive singles from shortstop Corey Seager, second baseman Marcus Semien and center fielder Wyatt Langford gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Rangers didn’t score again until Seager hit his 17th home run off of Philadelphia left-hander Matt Strahm in the eighth.
The Rangers went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position after Langford’s first-inning single and, outside of Seager’s home run, got just one runner to second base in the game’s final six innings. Even that was erased when right fielder Adolis García, who doubled in the fourth, was thrown out at third base by catcher J.T. Realmuto on a stolen base attempt. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged that García “did hesitate for a second” before he committed to the attempt.
It was a greatest hits run by a Rangers offense that ranks bottom-five against left-handers (.638 OPS, third-worst in baseball), with runners in scoring position (.236 average, tied for fifth-worst) and when behind in games (.613 OPS, third-worst).
It amounted to their 18th loss this season in which they’ve allowed three or fewer runs. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants have had more of that caliber.
“They’re trying, trust me,” Bochy said. “It’s frustrating for all of us.”
Their starter wore it most Saturday night. The 37-year-old deGrom threw six scoreless innings before the Phillies scored three runs against him in the seventh. Brandon Marsh reached on a one-out single, Harrison Bader walked on five pitches and Max Kepler drove in both with a double into right field off of deGrom’s slider.
The slider, which deGrom lamented as one that he “yanked” across the plate, was intended to be a pitch away. Instead it chased him from the game after 99 pitches. Left-hander Danny Coulombe replaced him and allowed a soft single to Bryson Stott that scored Kepler to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.
It snapped a streak of consecutive starts in which deGrom allowed five runs to both the Los Angeles Angels and the Seattle Mariners. He struck out eight batters in the first six innings and was able to address a mechanical issue — the fact that he was “flying open” again too much — in between starts.
“I saw him pitch really well,” Bochy said. “Great game. Tough one not to get a win with the job he did.”
San Antonio Missions team up with Red Sox, Padres to raise funds for Texas flood victims
Missions co-owner Manu Ginobili threw out the first pitch before the game as the team raises money for the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund.
How the Rangers’ bullpen has bucked the trend and found success in baseball’s velocity era
Texas’ relievers have combined to throw the slowest-average fastball in baseball at 92.5 mph this season, but have yielded some of the league’s best numbers.
Watch: Josh Hamilton receives his Rangers Hall of Fame jacket, throws out first pitch
Rangers senior adviser John Blake, a fellow Hall of Famer, presented the jacket before Hamilton threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Tony Beasley.
Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Click or tap here to sign up for our Rangers newsletter.