MLBRecap
Thoughts on a 6-1 Rangers win
TL;DR
The Texas Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1, highlighted by Jacob deGrom's 10 strikeouts. Evan Carter's inside-the-park home run and Corey Seager's three-run homer contributed to the victory.
Key points
- Texas Rangers won 6-1 against the Pittsburgh Pirates
- Jacob deGrom achieved 10 strikeouts in the game
- Evan Carter hit an inside-the-park home run
- Corey Seager hit a three-run homer
- Bubba Chandler was the starting pitcher for the Pirates
Texas RangersPittsburgh PiratesJacob deGromEvan Carter
- 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. Iâm glad to see Oneil Cruz leave town.
- A very impressive 21 whiffs from deGrom in the game â nine on his fastball, six on his slider, four on his changeup and two on his curve.
- Thatâs 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 OâHearn 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. He retired all three batters he faced, with the final out coming on a Griffin strikeout, which was Grayâs first major league strikeout.
- So a day after both the starter and the pen had problems, the starter and the pen were very good for Texas.
- Texas threatened early against Pirates starter Bubba Chandler, loading the bases in the first on a Brandon Nimmo single, a Corey Seager single, and a Josh Jung HBP before Evan Carter got called out on strikes on a 2-2 pitch to end the inning. Carter challenged the K call, and it was close, but the pitch just nicked the zone.
- Chandler wiggled out of a two on, two out situation in the second after Alejandro Osuna singled and Nimmo walked, with Joc Pederson hitting one deep the opposite way, but not deep enough.
- Not deep enough in the Shed, at least. Per Statcast, it would have gone out at Fenway, at the Juice Box, at Petco, at the Rogers Centre, at Citizens Bank Park, and at Rate Field.
- It was fun-having time in the third, though, as, after a Josh Jung single, Evan Carter hit a blast to right center that caromed off the wall and resulted in an inside-the-park home run. Look! View Link
- The inside the park home run is, I think, the most fun play in baseball. I still remember, as a kid, watching Toby Harrah and Bump Wills hit back-to-back inside the park home runs off of Ken Clay at Yankee Stadium. Its one of the most memorable Rangers moments of my childhood.
- The Rangers turned a small lead into a big lead in the fourth. Josh Smith walked and stole second. Alejandro Osuna walked. After Brandon Nimmo fanned, Joc Pederson singled home Smith. Corey Seager followed that up by yanking a 1-0 Bubba Chandler changeup down the right field line and into the stands for a three run bomb. That made it 6-0 Rangers, and the offense at that point decided to save the rest of the runs they might have scored for the weekend.
- Incidentally, regarding Pirates pitcher Bubba ChandlerâŠBubba is not an acceptable name for a pitcher. If you are named Bubba you need to be a position player. Probably an outfielder, but maybe a big beefy first baseman.
- Bubba Chandler does throw really hard, at least. If youâre a pitcher named Bubba, you should at least be bringing the gas.
- I feel like the nickname Bubba has gone out of style of late. When I was younger it seemed like there were lots of Bubbas around. I had a teammate named Bubba on my little league team. He was the best player on the team, and I think if youâre a little leaguer you donât get to be called Bubba unless youâre one of the best players on the team. You canât be named Bubba and be bad. Kind of like the rule that, if you are a baseball player and your uniform number is â1,â you should be a small guy, but you have to be a good small guy. You canât be a bad small player and wear â1.â
- Also, if you are named âBubba,â you kind of have to have an edge to you. Like, I was thinking about who on the Rangers would be the best one to be nicknamed âBubba,â and I was thinking about Evan Carter, but he seems to nice to be a âBubba.â
- My preferred bubble gum as a kid was Hubba Bubba. I donât know if they still make that. Iâm kind of out of the chewing gum game.
- Someone offered Benâs four year old son Tibsy a piece of gum the other day, and Benâs mom said he was too little to have it. Tibsy said he could have gum when he was old like daddy, because then he wonât have any hair for the gum to get stuck in.
- Jacob deGrom maxed out at 98.7 mph on his fastball, averaging 97.5 mph. Gavin Collyer hit 98.1 mph with his fastball. Jalen Beeks reached 95.2 mph with his fastball. Jakob Junisâs sinker touched 92.5 mph. Peyton Grayâs fastest pitch was his first major league pitch, a 92.5 mph fastball.
- Alejandro Osuna had a 106.0 mph ground out. Corey Seager had a 104.7 mph home run. Brandon Nimmo had a 102.3 mph double. Evan Carterâs homer was 99.3 mph.
- Rangers are tied for first place in the American League West with the Aâs of Northern California, who are rolling into town for three games.
Q&A
What were Jacob deGrom's stats in the Rangers vs Pirates game?
Jacob deGrom recorded 10 strikeouts, allowed one run, and had a total of 89 pitches in the game.
How did Evan Carter perform in the Rangers' win against the Pirates?
Evan Carter hit an inside-the-park home run and celebrated a catch that robbed Oneil Cruz of a home run.
What was the significance of Corey Seager's performance in the game?
Corey Seager hit a three-run homer that extended the Rangers' lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning.
Who was the starting pitcher for the Pirates in the game against the Rangers?
Bubba Chandler was the starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their game against the Texas Rangers.