ARLINGTON — Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom spent the better part of the previous seasons locked into a cold war with his own body, sidelined by a significant elbow injury, resigned to anticipate days where he could pitch worry-free again.
That’s no longer his primary concern.
It appears to be everything else.
The 37-year-old — on paper, at least, and to most observers — orchestrated a fine start vs. the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field Monday night. He allowed only two runs on three hits and two walks in five innings in a 5-0 loss. He left the Rangers, who’re back under .500 at 66-67, with just a two-run deficit to work themselves out of and felt entirely healthy after his previous start was skipped due to shoulder soreness.
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Rangers manager Bruce Bochy classified it as a “fine” start in which deGrom had “really good” stuff. Here’s a sampler platter of words that deGrom used to describe his night: “inconsistent,” “all over the place,” “a lot of yanks,” and, finally, “not very good.”
“That’s what frustrating about it,” deGrom said. “You go out there and you feel good — the bullpen in between felt really good, warming up felt really good — and then you go out there and I’m just not able to throw the ball where I want.”
The two-time Cy Young award winner has made 25 of his 26 starts in his first full season since he underwent elbow surgery in his first year with the team and, despite the one skipped start, is on pace to continue forward with an every-five-games schedule. He was an All-Star for the first time in six years. His 2.79 ERA remains the fourth-best in the American League. He struck out seven batters in the first four innings of what he’d classify as a poor performance.
He holds himself to a high standard nonetheless. Even against a team that, in relative comparison to the rest of baseball, has his number. The Angels totaled 8 runs on 12 hits and 3 walks in deGrom’s first 10 ⅓ innings pitched against them this season.
Angels shortstop Zach Neto belted a “right down the middle” fastball, in deGrom’s words, into left field on the first pitch of the game. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud hit deGrom’s slider — a pitch that the right-hander struggled to locate all evening — into center field for a single in the fourth inning that gave the Angels a two-run lead. The rest of his start, deGrom maintains, was bogged down by unnecessarily long at bats that forced him to exit after 90 pitches through five innings.
“You work on things in between [starts] to try and hit the glove,” deGrom said. “I just wasn’t able to do it. I threw the ball right down the middle and, to d’Arnaud, a bad slider. You have to be able to make pitches. I didn’t do a good job of that.”
The offense was, to borrow a phrase from the former manager in town Monday, just the way these Rangers go. They were shut out for the 12th time this season, a total surpassed only by five teams, and totaled five singles against a lineup of Angels pitchers led by right-hander José Soriano.
Soriano, whose fastball touched 100 mph, has allowed three or fewer runs in three of his four starts against Texas this season. The Rangers hardly fazed him Monday night and struck out in 6 of their 11 at bats with a runner on base. They were 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and couldn’t capitalize on a night in which the team directly ahead of them in the AL Wild Card standings also lost.
“Sometimes you just tip your cap,” Bochy said. “That’s just one of those games where we ran into a really good pitcher.”
The Rangers ran one of their own out.
He, on this night at least, may disagree.
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