Dominant Stretch by Rangers Ace Makes Franchise and MLB History

When the Texas Rangers gave Jacob deGrom a five-year, $185 million contract ahead of the 2023 season, they did so with the hopes of getting a big-time ace to lead their rotation.

Handing him that type of contract was always a risk.

deGrom put together one of the most dominant stretches in Major League Baseball history that was punctuated with two straight NL Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019, but after another elite performance during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, he didn't pitch after mid-July in 2021 and only made 11 starts in 2022.

Still, the talent was too good for the Rangers to pass up, and the thought of pairing him with Nathan Eovaldi caused them to shell out the amount of money they did.

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Unfortunately, Texas didn't see a lot of return on that investment.

It's well-documented that deGrom underwent another Tommy John surgery in 2023 that caused him to make only nine total starts during his first two years with the franchise.

But patience is a virtue, and the Rangers are reaping the benefit of that with the ace right now.

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deGrom was excellent again on Friday, allowing just two earned runs on five hits in six innings pitched where he struck out seven batters and walked one.

It was his fourth consecutive quality start in a row and his 12th straight where he's pitched five-plus innings and allowed two or fewer runs.

According to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, not only is that the longest streak in franchise history, but at 37 years old, it's also the longest streak by any MLB pitcher age 35 or older since 1900.

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deGrom continues to put together an incredible resume, one that would have assuredly gotten him into the Hall of Fame if he hadn't been snake bitten by all the injuries that he suffered during the height of his career.

While it might have taken a bit longer than Texas may have hoped to see this level of play from the superstar pitcher, the fact they are getting it now could mean even more historic feats will come while he's in a Rangers uniform.

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