Thoughts on a 6-1 Rangers win
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 21: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with Brandon Nimmo #24 after making a catch that robbed Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates (not pictured) of a home run in the fifth inning at Globe Life Field on April 21, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) | Getty Images Rangers 6, Pirates 1 See, that was much better than the previous game. A couple of big innings early to get a comfy lead, and good pitching throughout.
A 10 strikeout game from Jacob deGrom, his first double-digit K game since May 10, 2025. Just one walk. Just one run, when Oneil Cruz once again sent a ball into the stratosphere.
I’m glad to see Oneil Cruz leave town. A very impressive 21 whiffs from deGrom in the game — nine on his fastball, six on his slider, four on his changeup and two on his curve. That’s tied for the fourth most swings-and-misses in a game this season.
Shota Imanaga and Dylan Cease have each had a 24 whiff game, and Jacob Misiorowski had a 22 whiff game. Interestingly, Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter are the only two pitchers this year in the majors to generate 20 swings and misses in a game. The one walk was on a 3-2 pitch to Ryan O’Hearn with two outs in the sixth.
That was the last batter deGrom faced, as the Rangers continue to be cautious with his pitch count (deGrom ended the night with 89 pitches) early in the season. Gavin Collyer was summoned to finish out the sixth and while he maintained his perfect ERA he scared us in the process, hitting Nick Gonzales with a pitch and then issuing a four pitch walk to Spencer Horwitz before getting Konnor Griffin to ground out to end the inning. Jalen Beeks and Jakob Junis each pitched a scoreless inning before Peyton Gray came in for the ninth in his major league debut.
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