SEATTLE — Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom struck out four in 3⅔ scoreless innings Friday night in his return from Tommy John surgery.
“I told him [a teammate] “I'm like a fawn here: 'I don't know what I'm doing,'” deGrom said after a 5-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners. “I almost fell over. I was pretty nervous, so getting back out was tough. My legs were kind of shaky.”
DeGrom, 36, allowed two hits in the fourth inning and was pulled after retiring Jorge Polanco on a fly out to center. Walter Pennington came on and got JP Crawford to second, stranding runners on the corners.
DeGrom threw 61 pitches, 41 of them for strikes, in his first major league appearance since April 28, 2023. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner allowed four hits and no walks.
He gave his performance a “C.”
“It's very important to go out and pitch in a big league game, so you don't feel like you're in rehab mode for two years straight,” deGrom said. “And now we're going to try to get back to doing things the way they were, executing the pitches the way they normally do and get ready to play next year.”
DeGrom agreed to a five-year, $185 million 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 getting hurt.
He underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery in June 2023. He also underwent the same procedure in 2010 while in the minor leagues.
DeGrom allowed Victor Robles' leadoff single in the first inning, but got out of the inning with the help of two strikeouts. After connecting on Luke Raley to lead off the second, he induced three easy fly balls to the edge of the infield. In the third, he deflected a Robles liner toward the mound with his glove and then made the throw for the out.
Manager Bruce Bochy said he didn't see anything concerning in the performance. He praised deGrom's fastball velocity and liked that he “used all of his pitches,” including the slider and changeup.
“That's what we want to see, someone who's healthy out there,” he said.
DeGrom made four rehab starts for Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, allowing one earned run in 10⅔ innings for a 0.84 ERA. He struck out 15 batters and walked one.
Bochy said he will install a six-man rotation for the remainder of the season to make room for deGrom and Max Scherzer, who returns Saturday.
“The goal for the next two years is to get things in place,” deGrom said. “And then you can treat it like a normal offseason.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
