The Texas Rangers have split their series against the Philadelphia Phillies so far to start the season, and the final game will determine the tiebreaker. The Rangers have been without Jacob deGrom to start, as he was recently scratched from his start in the second game due to neck stiffness.
The good news is that the Rangers were still able to win, and deGrom's injury doesn't seem to be serious. In fact, there's a chance that he'll be back against the Baltimore Orioles, according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.
“Jacob deGrom said his neck feels ‘much better' today. He played catch from 120 feet, which he couldn’t do yesterday. He still feels it a bit, but he’s hopeful about being able to start in Baltimore this week,” Landry wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
deGrom has dealt with injuries in the past, but this one won't have him sidelined for an extended period of time. He was solid for the Rangers last season, as he recorded a 2.97 ERA with 185 strikeouts and a 12-8 record.
Many thought that deGrom would probably start on Opening Day, but Nathan Eovaldi got the start over him and MacKenzie Gore. Manager Skip Schumaker shared why he made that decision to start the season.
“With the leadership [Eovaldi] provides and the standards that he set,” Schumaker said via MLB.com. “I know you could probably make an argument for all three of those guys with Evo, deGrom, and [MacKenzie] Gore. So I shouldn't say it's an easy decision, but it does line up for another guy to have the home opener start, which I think is important as well. They both deserve one of those, so this was a no-brainer for me to give each of them that opportunity.”
