Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom struck out four batters in 3 2/3 scoreless innings against Seattle on Friday night in his return from Tommy John surgery.
“I told (a teammate) I’m like a baby deer out here: ‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’” deGrom said. “I almost fell over. I had quite a bit of nerves, so getting back out there was big. My legs were shaking a little bit.”
DeGrom allowed two hits in the fourth inning and was taken out after retiring Jorge Polanco on a flyball to center field. Walter Pennington then came in and got J.P. Crawford to ground out to second base, leaving runners on the corners.
The 36-year-old deGrom threw 61 pitches, with 41 of them being strikes, in his first major league game since April 28, 2023. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner allowed four hits and did not walk any batters.
He rated his performance as a C.
“It’s big to get out and pitch in a major league game, so you don’t feel like you’re in rehab mode for two straight years,” deGrom said.
“And now let’s just try to get things back where they were executing pitches like you normally do and get ready to play next year.”
DeGrom signed a $185 million, five-year contract with Texas in December 2022 after starting his major league career with the New York Mets. He made six starts for the Rangers last year before his injury.
He had surgery to replace the ligament in his elbow in June 2023. He also had the same procedure in 2010 while in the minor leagues.
DeGrom allowed an infield single by Victor Robles to start the game but got out of the inning with two strikeouts. After hitting Luke Raley to start the second inning, he got three easy popouts near the infield. In the third inning, he deflected a liner from Robles back to the mound with his glove and made the throw for the out.
Manager Bruce Bochy said he saw nothing concerning in the performance.
“I wanted to see exactly what I saw: the fastball, the velocity, the slider,” Bochy said. “He threw some changeups, used all his pitches. That’s what you want to see, just somebody that’s healthy out there.”
