Jacob deGrom’s velocity is slightly diminished but he appears as effective as ever after returning from a second Tommy John surgery.
A former dominant starter for the New York Mets, deGrom will pitch in the city he called home for nearly a decade for the first time since September 2022 Wednesday night when the Texas Rangers visit the New York Yankees.
Texas will send deGrom (4-1, 2.29 ERA) to the mound after opening the series with a 5-2 loss on Tuesday. The Rangers lost for the third time in four games after a six-game winning streak and were blanked until Jonah Heim homered in the ninth.
The right-hander is making his 13th start since undergoing the surgery on his elbow in 2023. He signed a five-year deal with the Rangers in December 2022 after going 82-57 with a 2.52 ERA in 209 starts for the Mets, who saw deGrom win the National League Cy Young Award in 2018 and 2019 along with the Rookie of the Year in 2014.
He averaged 98.9 mph with his fastball in his final season for the Mets and was averaging 98.7 mph with the pitch in 2023 before getting hurt. Last season he returned for three starts and averaged 97.3 mph with the pitch and is averaging 97 with his fastball while throwing it along with a slider that averages 89.3.
“There were a couple of years where my velocity was down and I was able to still get outs,” deGrom said Tuesday afternoon. “So it’s about trusting your stuff and location. So having the thought that I feel like I can locate pretty well, I thought I would be able to get outs.”
The 36-year-old had his third scoreless outing this season when he allowed five hits in eight innings to get the win in a 1-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday. In that start, deGrom struck out seven and threw 69 of his 96 pitches for strikes.
“He’s not trying to power his way through anybody,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “I think he’s made a concerted effort to probably dial it down just a touch.”
deGrom will pitch at Yankee Stadium for the first time since Aug. 13, 2018, and is 2-4 with a 3.22 ERA in seven career starts against the Yankees.
Aaron Judge is 1-for-5 off him. Cody Bellinger, who is on a career-high 14-game hitting streak, is 3-for-16 against deGrom and Paul Goldschmidt is 1-for-8 against him.
The Yankees are 9-3 in their past 12 games and will attempt to move a season-high 10 games over .500. Judge hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning after youngsters Ben Rice homered, and Will Warren struck out 10 in 5 2/3 innings in the Monday win.
“Our young players as well as some of our veterans and the guys we’ve brought in and some of the mainstays have all played meaningful roles for us,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s been a lot of fun to see.”
Ryan Yarbrough (1-0, 3.70) will make his 11th appearance and third start for the Yankees. Yarbrough has allowed three runs on seven hits in nine innings as a starter and earned the win May 11 when he allowed two runs on six hits in five innings of a 12-2 win over the host Athletics.
Yarbrough is 2-2 with a 4.68 ERA in eight career appearances (three starts) against Texas.
-Field Level Media
