Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom made a career first on Monday during his outing against the Toronto Blue Jays—just probably not one he wanted to make. In the 12th year and 229th game of his MLB career, deGrom didn't strike out a batter in a game for the first time.
"I actually didn't know that. I heard it when I walked inside, but they were aggressive early," deGrom said postgame Monday via the Associated Press.
The two-time Cy Young award winner threw 5 1/3 innings Monday, giving up five hits, two earned runs and two walks. The earned runs came on a two-run homer to Toronto outfielder Daulton Varsho in the first inning. Varsho's long ball resulted in the only runs of the day for the Blue Jays—still good enough for a 2–1 win over deGrom and the Rangers.
"They were putting a lot of balls in play early. So I was like, oh man, I might be able to go deep in this game ... let's see how deep I can go in this and try to keep them off the board," deGrom continued. "Fighting myself, started yanking the ball, walked a couple guys, just wasn't very efficient."
The loss Monday dropped deGrom's 2025 record to 4–2 over 11 starts with a 2.42 ERA. He's had a solid year thus far, especially after starting just nine games over the past two seasons following Tommy John surgery in 2023. According to Elias Sports Bureau research via ESPN and the AP, deGrom's 228 career games with a strikeout to start his career marked the 10th-longest streak by any pitcher since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893.
The 36-year-old ace went 12 seasons without a performance where he didn't sit a batter down on strikes. And we may not see another performance where he doesn't for the rest of his career.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rangers' Jacob deGrom Had Surprised Reaction at Disappointing Career First.
