Jacob deGrom stymies Boston Red Sox as Texas Rangers rally for third straight win
After starting off the season with a loss, the Rangers extended their winning streak to three with a 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday at Globe Life Field.
Sixth-inning home runs by Wyatt Langford and Adolis García put the Rangers ahead for good.
Bochy said he was happy with the tenacity and fight the Rangers showed over the opening series.
“Pitching, I mean, what a job they did. That’s a tough lineup, and the bullpen did a great job, [and the] starters. We scratched and clawed for some runs and got the long ball when we needed. This is a hard-fought series; that’s a good club over there. You take three out of four anytime,” said Bochy.
Here’s some of what stood out in the final game of the Rangers four-game homestand.
Thumbs up: Jacob deGrom had his first start of the season and blanked the Red Sox in a scoreless outing, giving up two hits in five innings of work with six strikeouts and two walks. Despite having multiple innings with chances to score, the Red Sox went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position against deGrom.
After deGrom’s performance, Bochy said he could have pitched the sixth inning, but the team decided to go to the bullpen instead.
“He could have gone out in the sixth. He could have, we had about another 10 pitches for him, but I wanted Armstrong to have a clean inning there and [deGrom] did his job. We could have pushed him, but his first start, I said, that’s good and yeah, next game, he could go six innings, maybe seven, really, depending on the pitch count,” said Bochy.
Despite five scoreless innings, his first since 2023, deGrom wasn’t fully satisfied with his season debut, saying he needs to sharpen his mechanics.
“It was nice, obviously, to be back out there and to go five. Honestly, I wanted to go deeper, knowing that the bullpen was taxed a little bit last night. But, you know, we said five was good. So build from there. Still got work to do, still feel like I’m fighting myself a little bit. So gotta figure that out in between,” said deGrom.
Thumbs down: Injuries continue to mount for the Rangers with third baseman Josh Jung being sent to the 10-day injured list with neck spasms. Manager Bruce Bochy doesn’t expect it to be a long stay on IL for Jung and also announced that the team hoped Josh Smith would be able to play on Monday after exiting Saturday’s game after crashing into the railing behind the third base line.
Thumbs up: The revamped bullpen has excelled to start the season with a 1-1 record with 1.69 ERA in 14.1 innings heading into Sunday, going 2-for-2 on save opportunities to start the season while using eight different relievers to start the season.
On Sunday, the bullpen earned the win, giving up one earned run off three hits with five strikeouts in four innings of work. Luke Jackson was sent out for the Rangers in the ninth inning and earned the save, striking out “fan favorite” Alex Bregman.
Catcher Kyle Higashioka complimented Jackson for bouncing back on Sunday after struggling in his first outing of the season.
“Thought he stepped into that closer role really well, I mean obviously a rough first night, but the last couple appearances have been really, really good, so probably the hardest role in baseball for a reliever, and he’s stepping up big time for us,” said Higashioka.
Thumbs down: Quiet start at the top of the lineup for stars Marcus Semien and Corey Seager, who didn’t play in Sunday’s game, and are a combined 5-for-28 to start the season with one RBI, one run and six strikeouts.
The Rangers will head on the road to play the Cincinnati Reds next at 5:40 p.m. on Monday at the Great American Ball Park.
This story was originally published March 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM.
