Jacob deGrom brought his former Cy Young stuff in a brilliant start against the Seattle Mariners Thursday.
But it wasn’t enough for a Rangers win as the Mariners rallied for a 4-3 win. It added up to a spoiled outing for deGrom and a tough blow for the Rangers in their fight from behind to make the postseason.
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deGrom was virtually unhittable in six one-hit innings in which he recorded 12 strikeouts. The strikeout tally was a season high for the 38-year old who won consecutive Cy Young awards in 2018 and 2019.
He struck out eight of the first nine batters he faced and was perfect through five innings. The slider and four-seam fastball that made him baseball’s most dominant pitcher at his peak repeatedly perplexed Seattle hitters.
deGrom didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning, and that was an infield single by Cole Young on a comebacker that bounced off his glove. deGrom got through the rest of the sixth unscathed and left the frame in line for the win with the Rangers holding a 3-0 lead.
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He finished his day having allowed the single infield hit with no walks and 12 strikeouts on 92 pitches in six shutout innings.
But disaster struck for the Rangers as soon as deGrom was pulled. Jakob Junis came out of the Texas bullpen in the seventh and allowed four runs without recording an out.
Junis hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch to lead off the top of the seventh. He then surrendered consecutive singles to Dominic Canzone and Cal Raleigh, allowing Arozarena to score in the process.
Then Julio Rodriguez ended Junis’ day with a single swing. The Seattle slugger launched a first-pitch sinker on the inside corner over the left-field wall.
The three-run home run gave the Mariners a 4-3 lead that stood as the final score of the game.
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The win salvaged a strong outing from Seattle starter Logan Gilbert, who struck out 11 while allowing thee earned runs in seven innings. Gilbert’s and deGrom’s combined 23 strikeouts are the most by starters in a single MLB game this season.
The loss put a dent in Texas’ playoff hopes as they look to rally late in the season in both the AL West and AL wild-card races. With the loss, the Rangers fall to three games behind the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West at 72-75.
Their shortest path to the playoffs remains in the wild-card race, where the Rangers are now two games behind the 74-73 Cleveland Guardians for the final spot in the AL field.
The Mariners improved to 69-78 with the win and the 2-1 series victory, but remain a long shot both the AL West (6 games behind) and wild-card (5 games behind) races.
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