Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom marked a pair of notable career milestones during his latest outing on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, even as he continues to work through the ups and downs of his recent starts.
Early in the game, deGrom set the tone by striking out Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki to end the first inning, a punchout that also marked the 1,900th strikeout of his Major League career. The achievement places him among one of baseball’s most elite strikeout pitchers, though still far from the all-time record held by former Rangers legend Nolan Ryan, who finished his career with 5,714 strikeouts.
What makes deGrom’s milestone even more impressive is the pace at which he reached it. According to the Rangers, he became the second-fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach 1,900 strikeouts in terms of both games and innings pitched. Sunday was just his 256th career appearance, trailing only Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who reached the mark even faster and ultimately finished with 4,875 career strikeouts.
In terms of innings, deGrom hit the milestone in 1,577.1 innings pitched—again ranking second only to current Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale, who achieved the feat in 1,560.1 innings. Sale, meanwhile, has accumulated 2,635 strikeouts over his career.
The milestone came at an encouraging time for deGrom, who is looking to bounce back from a rough outing against the New York Yankees earlier in the week, where he allowed six earned runs in 6.1 innings despite striking out seven. Prior to that, however, he had been dominant, including a seven-inning shutout performance in a 3-0 win over Arizona in which he struck out 10 batters.
Overall, deGrom’s season has featured strong underlying numbers, including just four earned runs allowed over 26.2 innings in April, along with 33 strikeouts against seven walks, even if his win-loss record hasn’t fully reflected that performance.
Looking ahead, the Rangers have mapped out their rotation for the upcoming stretch against Arizona, with Nathan Eovaldi set to start Monday, followed by MacKenzie Gore and Kumar Rocker. deGrom is expected to receive an extra day of rest due to an off day in the schedule and is projected to take the mound next Saturday against the Houston Astros as Texas continues its road trip.
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