There was a moment of panic after deGrom allowed a lead-off home run to Tommy Edman. Struggling a bit to start the season and being especially prone to homers, that was a scary way to start the game. Yet, he instantly pulled the nose back up on this start and faced just two batters over the minimum from that point to the end of his outing and completed seven innings for the first time since April 11th, 2023. It wasn’t necessarily vintage deGrom, though. He forced just eight swings-and-misses and barely got the Dodgers to chase anything out of the strike zone. Also, he didn’t throw a single curveball for the first time all season and only mixed in a handful of changeups to left-handed batters. It’s been fun trying to re-calibrate our understanding of who deGrom is at this point in his career and it’s encouraging that he held the Dodgers’ dangerous lineup in check without missing many bats. He’s set to take on the Athletics in his next start.

The 36-year-old struggled with his command, and allowed two homers and four walks. There were flashes of the old deGrom with four strikeouts, but a disappointing result consider the lineup and the park he was pitching in. He’ll face the Angels next week and look to lower a 4.30 ERA.

Brandon Lowe’s solo shot in the third was the only damage through five, but the Rays got to him the third time through the order in the sixth, collecting a single, a homer and a double before he was lifted with two outs a 4-3 lead. Jacob Webb replaced him and gave up a game-tying double, so this makes two straight outings in which the Rangers pen has blown a lead behind him. DeGrom was again in the 95-98 mph range with his fastball, just like in his first start. He was good but not dominant while winding up with three strikeouts and a 26% CSW. He’s set to face Seattle next.

He allowed just two hits and two walks before leaving with a 1-0 lead. Alas, that was blown immediately by Shawn Armstrong in the sixth. DeGrom averaged 96.7 mph with his fastball today, topping out at 98.1. That’s not the deGrom of old, but with the slider working, it’s plenty sufficient to retire major league hitters. He got 16 missed swings in the 73-pitch outing, including 22 from Rafael Devers.