Thoughts on an 8-5 Rangers win
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - MARCH 31: Catcher Danny Jansen #9 of the Texas Rangers hits a three RBI home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on March 31, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Getty Images) | Getty Images Rangers 8, Orioles 5 And the Rangers have now won two road series to start the season. Jacob deGrom made his belated season debut, and for the first four innings and change, things went smoothly.
Seven Ks, no walks, three hits, the one run being a solo homer by Pete Alonso to lead off the fourth. I keep having to remind myself, oh yeah, Pete Alonso plays for Baltimore now. A blame deGrom’s undoing with two outs in the fifth on Mike Bascik.
Bascik said that deGrom’s pitch count and success was such that he should be able to go six innings in this, his maiden start of the season. DeGrom then gave up a single to Blaze Alexander, an infield single to Taylor Ward, and then a hard hit double to the gap by Gunnar Henderson, which tied the game at three and chased deGrom from the game. So a bit of a letdown at the end, but still.
79 pitches, 14 whiffs, including 10 on the slider. I will note that deGrom, who had a below average hard hit rate in 2025, continued that trend in his 2026 debut. When the O’s made contact, they hit it hard — the lowest exit velocity deGrom allowed was on the Ward infield single in the fifth, at 90.
4 mph, and his average exit velocity allowed was 97. 8 mph. Cole Winn finished off the fifth with a strikeout, and ended up earning his first major league victory, going 1.