deGrom Reaches 100: Rangers Ace Grinds Out a Milestone Win in St. Louis

A long road to a round number

Jacob deGrom has spent a career being measured by strikeouts, velocity and Cy Young hardware. On Monday night at Busch Stadium, the number that mattered was a rounder one: 100. The 37-year-old right-hander tossed five scoreless innings to earn the 100th win of his major league career as the Texas Rangers edged the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1.

It was not easy, and it was not quick. deGrom had reached the doorstep of the milestone three times before Monday and come away empty each time. A two-time National League Cy Young Award winner, he arrived having gone 1-3 with a 5.72 ERA across five May starts, and he had yet to win a game all season in which he allowed more than one run. The margin for No. 100 was thin.

Five clean innings

deGrom gave himself no such trouble this time. He scattered four hits and struck out eight, handing the bullpen a lead it would not give back. The win moved his season record to 4-4.

The Rangers gave him just enough to work with. Ezequiel Duran, who finished with three hits, lined an RBI double off the left-field wall to score Brandon Nimmo for a 1-0 lead in the fourth. An inning later Texas manufactured a second run the old-fashioned way: Danny Jansen walked, stole second, moved to third on Nicky Lopez's single and scored on Joc Pederson's RBI single up the middle.

Holding the line

St. Louis pushed back. Masyn Winn pulled his second home run of the season down the left-field line off reliever Peyton Gray in the sixth to cut the deficit to 2-1, and the one-run game held from there. Jacob Latz closed it out with a perfect ninth for his eighth save, sealing the Rangers' fourth straight win.

Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy took the loss, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings - a steadier turn than his previous two starts, in which he had been tagged for eight runs in nine innings.

What it means

The victory nudged Texas to 29-31, second in the American League West and 2.5 games back while riding a four-game streak. For deGrom, the number is less about the standings than about a career that injuries have repeatedly interrupted. One hundred wins is a mark many durable starters reach in their early 30s; getting there at 37 is its own statement about persistence.

The series continues Tuesday night, with Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (5-6, 3.93 ERA) set to face Cardinals right-hander Dustin May (3-6, 4.57).

Sources

https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/401815585