Rangers turn to Jacob deGrom vs. Cards to end series skid

The Texas Rangers will look to snap a streak of three straight losing series when they battle the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon in the finale of a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas.

The rubber game will be a battle of right handers as St. Louis will send Erick Fedde (3-4, 3.90 ERA) to the mound while the Rangers will counter with ace Jacob deGrom (4-2, 2.42).

Willson Contreras drove in a run and scored another to back the solid pitching of Sonny Gray and two relievers as the Cardinals beat Texas 2-0 on Saturday afternoon to even the series. St. Louis managed just five hits but that was enough to beat the Rangers, who had four hits and only one runner reach third base.

St. Louis gave itself a chance to win the series after getting shellacked 11-1 on Friday while the Rangers were shut out for the eighth time this season one day after producing their second-highest run total of 2025.

deGrom heads back to the hill for his 12th start of the season. He has a no-decision and a loss in his two previous outings, the most recent of which was a 2-1 setback at home to Toronto on Monday during which he allowed two runs on two hits (one of them a home run) in 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and did not strike out a batter for the first time in his career, a streak of 228 starts.

"I was fighting myself a bit, started yanking the ball, walked a couple guys -- I just wasn't very efficient," deGrom said of his performance against the Blue Jays. "I kind of took a step in the wrong direction. I wasn't able to really locate down and I was never able to throw a fastball, really, where I wanted to. That part was frustrating."

deGrom is 4-2 with a 3.95 ERA in seven career starts against St. Louis, all of them when he was with the Mets. In 43 1/3 innings, he's surrendered 19 runs on 50 hits and six walks while racking up 39 strikeouts.

He hasn't pitched against the Cardinals since 2019 and hasn't beat St. Louis since 2018.

Fedde has not produced a win in his past three starts: a pair of no-decisions on the road against Philadelphia and at home versus Detroit with a loss at Baltimore in his most recent appearance Monday. He allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk in five innings against the Orioles while striking out five.

He has not been the same pitcher after spinning a 10-0 shutout at home against Washington on May 9, his most recent victory.

Fedde famously spent a year in the Korean Baseball Organization before signing with the White Sox in 2024 and moving to St. Louis at the trade deadline last year.

"Erick is a guy with a calmness to him," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "He's quiet with not a ton of words, and you can easily mistake that as a lack of competitiveness. He (went to Korea) and then he was one of the most sought-after arms at the trade deadline, all by betting on himself. You only do that if there's a lot of belief, and there's a lot of competitiveness inside of you."

Fedde has faced the Rangers only once in his career, a no decision over 6 1/3 innings last season when he was with Chicago. He allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five.

The Cardinals announced Saturday they were placing outfielder Jordan Walker on the 10-day injured list due to left wrist inflammation. The move was made retroactive to May 29.