It wasn't a good day at the yard for either starting pitcher.
Jacob deGrom made his highly anticipated Rangers debut on Opening Day Thursday at Globe Life Field. It went just about as well as anyone could have imagined ... through the first inning.
After making quick work of the top of the Phillies order on 10 pitches (2 Ks), deGrom allowed a Nick Castellanos double and left a fastball up in the zone that Alec Bohm deposited into the Rangers bullpen in right-center field to fall behind 2-0 after the top of the second.
deGrom returned in the third inning and allowed back-to-back triples by Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner. Turner would then come around to score on a wild pitch.
deGrom went on to allow a Bohm double in the fourth inning and would exit after Jake Cave flew out. Cole Ragans came on in relief and allowed a Marsh double, scoring Bohm and putting an end to deGrom's line.
deGrom went 3 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits. He struck out seven and threw 73 pitches, with 49 of them being strikes. The low pitch count wasn't much of a surprise as manager Bruce Bochy said before the game that his Ace would be limited to around 65 pitches.
The right-hander allowed a career-high six extra-base hits, but in his defense, some Phillies were able to capitalize on some fortunate bounces on balls hit down the right-field line.
He'll look to get back on track next week against the Orioles.
Thankfully, deGrom won't be on the losing end of today's game. That's because the Rangers' offense came to life in the bottom of the 4th against Phillies ace Aaron Nola.
Nola cruised through the first three innings without allowing a hit, but Texas tagged the right-hander for five earned runs on four hits, including a three-run home run by Robbie Grossman, chasing him after 3 2/3 innings. The Rangers would go on to score nine runs in the fourth inning, tying a club record for runs in an inning on Opening Day, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
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