Jacob deGrom fails to record strikeout for 1st time in MLB career - ESPN

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jacob deGrom had a start like no other he has ever had in the major leagues. The two-time Cy Young Award winner didn't strike out a batter for the first time in his career.

«I actually didn't know that. I heard it when I walked inside, but they were aggressive early,» deGrom said after going 5⅓ innings for the Texas Rangers in his 229th career game, a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

According to Elias Sports Bureau research, deGrom's 228 career games with a strikeout to start his career marked the 10th-longest streak by any pitcher since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893. The only active players with longer such streaks are Aaron Nola (277) and Zack Wheeler (270). Dwight Gooden's streak of 349 consecutive appearances with a strikeout to start his career is the longest such streak over that span.

It was the first loss in the past seven starts for the 36-year-old deGrom (4-2), who has made 11 starts overall this season after missing most of the past two years following his second Tommy John surgery.

Daulton Varsho hit a solo homer in the first inning, and the only other run deGrom gave up came on a sacrifice fly. He gave up five hits and walked two before manager Bruce Bochy pulled him in the sixth after 81 pitches.

«They were putting a lot of balls in play early. So I was like, oh man, I might be able to go deep in this game… let's see how deep I can go in this and try to keep them off the board,» deGrom said. «Fighting myself, started yanking the ball, walked a couple guys, just wasn't very efficient.»

Meanwhile, Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman threw 72 of his 96 pitches for strikes — with first-pitch strikes to 26 of the 29 batters he faced for a career-high 89.7%. His