Scoreless 2024 debut for Jacob deGrom with Texas Rangers. But was he pleased?

The right-handed deGrom allowed four hits and struck out four while throwing 61 pitches. He was long gone when the Rangers blew a late lead.

SEATTLE — Back in the big leagues for the first time in 16 months, right-hander Jacob deGrom evaluated his 2024 debut Friday night as if he had never been injured.

The slider wasn’t good enough, and he said some of them were “terrible.” He didn’t pitch efficiently enough to work five innings, even though he had only 60 pitches with which to work.

Even his fielding work on a grounder back to the mound didn’t meet his standards.

“I’m like a baby deer out there,” deGrom said. “I almost fell over.”

He made it sound like he gave up six runs in two innings. The reality, though, is that he tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out four before exiting with his pitch count at 61.

His grade that performance: Just a C.

“My grade is the only one that matters,” he said.

The Rangers ended up squandering a late lead as Julio Rodriguez connected for a three-run homer in the eighth inning to lift the Mariners to a 5-4 victory. The Rangers led 2-0 when deGrom exited and 4-0 in the seventh before Jose Urena and David Robertson gave it up.

“I didn’t throw very many good ones out there,” Robertson said.

DeGrom, despite his rigid grading, did throw some good ones. He leaned on his slider and fastball, throwing 59 of them. Statcast shows that he threw three changeups and one curveball, but he said he threw only one changeup.

While the slider didn’t meet his standards, it did produce seven of his 10 swings and misses. The quest to be perfect might be what makes him one of the best pitchers in the world, but it might also hinder him at times.

“I wanted more swings and misses on them with two strikes,” deGrom said. “It’s been something throughout my career, sometimes I try to do too much. If you throw the same one you threw they just swung at 0-0 or 1-0, throw the same one. It’s trying to do too much, and that’s what I was trying to do tonight.”

DeGrom threw 33 sliders, including five straight at one point, as he kept working to refine the pitch. He threw 26 four-seam fastballs at an average velocity of 97.2 mph and a high of 98.7 mph. He threw two of those, both resulting in swinging strikeouts by Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena.

The most important part of the start is that deGrom left it healthy 15 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. If the rotation holds the next time through, he would start again next Friday against the Mariners at Globe Life Field.

“It was great to see him out there,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Good stuff his first time out there. We saw how good his stuff is. It’s back to where it normally is. That’s a good start for him.

“He’s just so good. This is the guy that we know, and it’s good to see him healthy and throwing the ball the way that he is. It’s so encouraging to see where he’s at right now.”

The start gave deGrom a baseline for what needs work and gave the Rangers an idea of what they might have in 2025. He’s not far off, no matter what his report card says.

“Now, it’s locking in,” he said.

Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com