Inside The Rangers

Watch: deGrom Completes Memorable First Start for Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom successfully completed his first outing on the mound in Cactus League action.

Kade Kistner

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It was a long time in the making, but newly-signed Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom made his first start for the club on Monday. The start came against the Kansas City Royals Triple-A squad whom they share their Spring Training complex with. 

Manager Bruce Bochy said deGrom would be limited to a maximum pitch count of 35 for his first start.

During his start deGrom touched 100 mph on his fastball and his slider was lively as it reached 92 mph. 

deGrom's first at-bat resulted in a pop fly to left field that was handled with ease. 

However, his second at-bat resulted in an inside-the-park home run off of the left-center field wall. It bounced around off of the fence causing trouble for the outfielder to handle. 

Who had that on their bingo card for his first start?

His next two at-bats ended with him striking out the batter with a fastball and a slider, respectively.

deGrom then went out for a second inning in which he induced another pop up and three more strikeouts mixing in his fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball. He went through his repertoire and from all initial reports looked great.

Overall, deGrom looked solid and steady in his first "official" outing of the spring. He is still on track to start on Opening Day against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

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Kade Kistner
KADE KISTNER

Kade Kistner is the publisher and beat writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies, Cubs and Astros. He is also an editor for Inside the Rangers. An alumnus of Tulane University, Kade graduated in 2017 with a degree in Latin American Studies and a minor in Spanish. Upon graduation, Kade commissioned into the United States Navy and attended Naval Flight School in Pensacola, Fl. He served as a Naval Aviator and was stationed in Jacksonville, Fl. During his time in school and the Navy, Kade began covering the MLB and NFL with USA Today, SB Nation, and Sports Illustrated. Kade covered the New Orleans Saints, Texas Rangers, and numerous other teams within the Sports Illustrated network before launching Inside the Phillies, Inside the Astros, and Inside the Cubs. You can follow him on Twitter at @KadeKistner, or if you have any questions or comments he can be reached via email at kwkistner@gmail.com.

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