Rangers' Jacob deGrom out to keep rolling vs. Pirates

A day after celebrating his 37th birthday, Jacob deGrom will try to put the Texas Rangers back on the right track when he takes the mound against rookie Mike Burrows and the host Pittsburgh Pirates to open a three-game series on Friday night.

Amid the Rangers' uneven season, deGrom (6-2, 2.19 ERA) has been one of the stable bright spots. He has delivered steady performances while remaining durable in an injury-riddled rotation, a welcome development for the veteran right-hander who has made 14 starts this season. He hasn't had more than 15 starts in a year since 2019.

The question now becomes whether deGrom can maintain his durability over the course of the season as he tries to put his elbow issues behind him for good.

"I think based on long-term health and probably what's best for me and the team would be to not try to get to 200 innings this year," deGrom said after his most recent outing. "I think we're on pace to throw a lot of innings. Like I said, I've been feeling good, so the goal is to keep trying to run out there as much as I can."

While multiple Rangers starters are injured, including Nathan Eovaldi (triceps tightness) and Tyler Mahle (shoulder soreness), deGrom is on a franchise-record streak of 11 consecutive starts of five or more innings while allowing two or fewer runs.

deGrom extended that stretch on Saturday when he threw six innings, gave up two runs on five hits, walked none and struck out six against the Chicago White Sox in a game Texas won 5-4 in 11 innings.

deGrom, who is 2-3 with a 2.39 ERA in eight career starts against the Pirates, will try to snap the Rangers' three-game skid after they were swept by the visiting Kansas City Royals. Texas entered that series with seven wins in eight games.

Burrows (1-1, 4.24 ERA) will try to build a little momentum for the Pirates, who concluded a rough road trip by splitting a long, weather-delayed doubleheader with the Tigers in Detroit on Thursday.

Pittsburgh dropped the Thursday opener 9-2 but responded with an 8-4 victory in 10 innings in the second game. The Pirates lost five games during the seven-game road trip, including three of four against the Chicago Cubs following a stretch of five wins in six home games.

After two disappointing starts in May, Burrows has shown marked improvement in June. In three starts this month, the right-hander is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA, allowing three runs in 15 innings while striking out 20 and walking three.

Burrows, who will face the Rangers for the first time, gave up one run on five hits over 5 1/3 innings in a 2-1 loss to the Cubs on Saturday. He struck out eight and did not issue a walk.

Burrows saw the most success from his changeup, which drew 10 swings and misses in that outing, per MLB.com.

"I've got confidence that it's going to be there every start," Burrows said. "I think, again, just going to the situation, where we were at, in that at-bat, where we were at in the game and what they had seen the first time through."