ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jacob deGrom is excited to be going back to where his career began, the home stadium where he made 109 of his 245 starts in the big leagues and had back-to-back Cy Young Award-winning seasons with the New York Mets.
“It holds a special place in my heart,” deGrom said. “I pitched a lot there, and Mets fans were always good to me. So taking the mound in front of that crowd was always a fun experience.”
Now the lanky right-hander will find out if that holds true when pitching against them.
DeGrom is set to face the Mets on Friday night for the first time since leaving in free agency after the 2022 season and signing with the Texas Rangers. The teams contending for playoff spots in their respective leagues open a three-game series at Citi Field.
“With what he did for the Mets, how much time he spent there, I'm sure he's probably going to have some memories and emotions even before he pitches,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “He'll be well-received, no doubt. But it's going to be a big game, so there may be some scattered boos in there.”
Comeback season
The 37-year-old deGrom (11-7, 2.78 ERA) was the only All-Star player from the Rangers this season. His 27 starts and 155 2/3 innings are the most since his last Cy Young Award in 2019, before the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and then a series of injury-plagued years with New York and Texas.
“The main thing coming into this year was try to take the ball as many times as I can. I didn’t know how many times that would be. ... The goal is to just keep it going," deGrom said this week.
“He looks great, he does. I’m really pleasantly surprised at how well this has gone for him this year because, you know, you don’t know,” Bochy said. “This is a lot of work for him after that surgery and not pitching for a couple of years, almost three. ... Yeah, it’s gone very well.”
Earlier this season, deGrom set a Rangers franchise record with 14 consecutive starts going at least five innings and not giving up more than two runs. That same span was the longest streak by any traditional starter (not including openers) in the modern era since 1900 of not allowing more than six hits and two runs in a game, according to STATS. He also came the closest he ever has to a no-hitter when allowing only a leadoff single in the eighth inning June 25 at Baltimore, a month after the only start in his career without a strikeout.
Missing the Mets
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When Texas played the Mets each of the past two seasons, deGrom both times was recovering from the Tommy John surgery he had after only six starts in his Rangers debut. They went to New York late in the 2023 season before winning their first World Series championship that fall, and hosted a three-game series in Arlington last year.
In his last start at Citi Field, deGrom had 13 strikeouts in five innings without a decision in the Mets' win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 18, 2022. His major league debut was also there, when he went seven innings and allowed the lone run in a 1-0 Subway Series loss to the Yankees on May 15, 2014.
Injury woes
DeGrom had a 1.08 ERA over 92 innings through 15 starts in 2021, but didn’t pitch in the All-Star Game and missed the rest of that season with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow. He was shut down during spring training in 2022 after a stress reaction in his right scapula, then was 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 starts over the final two months of that season before becoming a free agent.
The $185 million, five-year contract deGrom signed with Texas included a conditional sixth-year club option for 2028 that was triggered because of the time missed after Tommy John surgery. That option is worth at least $20 million, and could be up to $37 million depending on his total innings pitched and if finishing top five in Cy Young voting.
Playoff chase
Texas (77-70) has won 15 of its last 20 games and is seven games over .500 for the first time this season. The Rangers will go from New York to Houston for three games against the AL West-leading Astros, and are also trying to get past division foe Seattle for the American League's final wild card.
The Mets are unlikely to catch Philadelphia for the NL East title, but are trying to stay ahead in the NL wild-card race.
“All these games for us are very important. Same for them,” deGrom said. “So it’s gong to be fun. We’ve got to win, they’ve got to win. It's going to be a playoff atmosphere.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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