- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,129,795
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Degrom throws to first in an attempt to get Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout off base during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) (Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
ANAHEIM, Calif. — His teammates unanimously selected his four-seam fastball as the nastiest pitch on the roster when polled two months ago. They used "dart," "video game," and "elite" to describe it. There were frankly few better words to describe a weapon that'd helped net a pair of Cy Young Awards and built the foundation of a Hall of Fame-caliber career.
The ace in question chose a different descriptor Friday night.
"Terrible," right-handed pitcher Jacob deGrom said.
He used it to summarize his performance as a whole, but in a 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium, his performance was directly tied to his fastball. The Angels pounced on it, tagged deGrom for six runs, chased him after three innings and extended a trend in which the 37-year-old's money pitch has been anything but.
"I seem to be throwing the ball right down the middle," deGrom said. "I'm not executing and I put us in a bad spot. That's why we lost the game. I gave up six runs in three innings. It was a terrible performance by me. I've got to get back to hitting spots and pitching. I'm throwing the ball right down the middle. I've got to figure it out."
Angels shortstop Zach Neto, who's slugged .517 against four-seam fastballs this season, jumped on one left middle-middle for a first-pitch home run that led off the bottom of the first inning. Left fielder Wade Meckler, five at-bats later and after deGrom walked two batters, pulled one over the right field wall for a three-run home run. He allowed another two runs in the third inning when catcher Logan O'Hoppe slapped his slider for a two-run single.
Meckler's home run was the league-high ninth that deGrom has allowed on his fastball this season. Eight have been down the middle or up in the strike zone. He's allowed 25 home runs on his fastball since the start of last season — more than 29% of the career total — and has been tagged for five on the pitch in his last two starts against the Houston Astros and Angels. The 106.1 mph average exit velocity that the Angels registered against deGrom's fastball was the hardest any team had ever hit it in a single game. They didn't swing and miss at it once, something that only three other teams have ever done, despite the fact that they took nine hacks at it.
"It's just the missed location," Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. "It's just up and middle. You see where the glove is, and where the pitch ends up, major league hitters do damage on mistakes. Right now, the last couple of starts, some of the mistakes are getting hit."
The five-time All-Star said that the fastball feels fine out of his hand but "it's going right down the middle and finding barrels." He tried to mix up his pitch usage in the third inning but instead allowed one single with his changeup and two with his slider.
"We gave up three bloopers to score a couple runs, and there were walks in there, it all helps," deGrom said. "All in all it was just a terrible job by me tonight."
The Rangers nearly dug themselves out of the deficit, too, and cut the lead to one run late. Right fielder Brandon Nimmo walloped a 436-foot home run to lead off the fourth inning before center fielder Evan Carter hit a two-run triple five at-bats later. Second baseman Justin Foscue, who reached base three times to extend his two-week hot streak, scored first baseman Jake Burger with a single in the sixth that cut the deficit to two runs before he was promptly picked off at first base. Nimmo laced a two-out double into the right-center gap that scored pinch-hitter Andrew McCutchen from second base. Third baseman Josh Jung, who tried to score from first base, was thrown out at the plate by way of an impressive Angels relay.
You must be registered for see images attach
Texas Rangers' Josh Jung, left, is tagged out at home by Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe as he tries to score on Brandon Nimmo during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, May 22, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) (Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Right-handed pitcher Cal Quantrill, who relieved deGrom, pitched three scoreless frames out of the bullpen before left-handed pitcher Jalen Beeks allowed a home run to second baseman Oswald Peraza in the seventh that gave the Angels a two-run lead. Right-handed pitcher Chris Martin, who hadn't thrown in a big league game in over a month because of a shoulder impingement, allowed two runs on three consecutive hard hits in the eighth inning to extend the Los Angeles lead.
"We're trying to get Martin in the game to get some innings under his belt and get back to where we want him to be and need him to be," Schumaker said. "It was pretty much a right-handed lane, a lot of righties he was going to face in that inning, and unfortunately he gave up a lot of hard contact."
Martin, who now has an 8.59 ERA this season, declined to speak with reporters after the loss.
His starter covered the mood anyway.
"You've got to flush this," deGrom said. "I'm super frustrated right now."
Subscribe
Sign up for the Morning Roundup, a free newsletter delivering the latest North Texas news each morning.Continue reading...
