Jacob deGrom exited with a sore right wrist after pitching four flawless innings, and two Texas Rangers relievers completed a one-hitter Monday night in a 4-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
The Rangers said deGrom was removed as a precaution. The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner struck out five and walked one, throwing 39 of his 58 pitches for hits.
“I felt like he was heating up a little bit,” deGrom said. “I thought it was going to loosen up and it actually tightened up a little bit as the game went on.
“We’re playing smart. Could it have continued? Probably. But it was lingering and got a little worse as the game went on. I just want to play it safe. We’ve got a long season ahead of us. us.”
Texas coach Bruce Bochy said there’s concern any time you have to take a player out of a game due to injury, but he’s optimistic.
“We’ll re-evaluate him tomorrow,” Bochy said. “Anytime you take somebody out, it’s a fair question. I think I can answer it better tomorrow. Right now, I feel pretty good.”
Marcus Semien smashes a solo home run to put the Rangers up 4-0 over the Royals
Josh Jung hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Marcus Semien added a solo shot in the third. Dane Dunning struck out five and walked none in 4 1/3 innings of relief.
“He’s been doing a great job for us,” Bochy said. “With the confidence in Dane coming in, we felt good. We brought in a guy who has been throwing the ball well. He was ready to go, so it was an easy call.”
Matt Duffy’s one-out single in the fifth off Dunning was Kansas City’s only hit. José Leclerc got two outs to end it.
Hampered by injuries the past two seasons with the New York Mets, deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million contract with Texas as a free agent in December.
“Honestly, I’m not too worried,” he said. “I’d like to think I’ll make my next (start), but we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”
The right-hander is 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA in four starts for the Rangers.
The only base runners deGrom allowed came on an error by first baseman Nathaniel Lowe in the third and a walk by Vinnie Pasquantino in the fourth.
Report from The Associated Press.
Jacob de Grom
Texas Rangers
Kansas City Royals
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