Texas Rangers starter Jacob deGrom reached a significant career milestone Monday night, recording his 100th professional victory during a 2-1 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opening game of their three-game series.
The veteran right-hander delivered five innings of shutout baseball, surrendering just four hits while walking one and recording eight strikeouts to secure the historic win.
Ezequiel Duran led the offensive charge for Texas with three hits, including a run-scoring double, while Joc Pederson contributed an RBI single. The victory marked the Rangers’ fourth consecutive win, tying their season-best winning streak. Nicky Lopez chipped in with two hits.
DeGrom (4-4) had fallen short of the milestone in his previous three starts before finally breaking through against St. Louis. The two-time Cy Young Award recipient joins an exclusive group as the 16th active pitcher to achieve 100 career victories and the first since teammate Nathan Eovaldi accomplished the feat on July 30, 2025.
Jacob Latz, working as the fourth Rangers reliever, closed out the Cardinals in order during the ninth inning to secure his eighth save of the season.
Texas pitchers dominated throughout the contest, striking out 14 St. Louis batters. Jordan Walker particularly struggled, going down on strikes in all four plate appearances.
The Cardinals managed only one hit across the final five innings, with Masyn Winn’s sixth-inning home run providing their sole scoring. St. Louis has now dropped six of their past eight contests.
St. Louis mounted an early threat in the second inning, placing two runners on base with one out before deGrom escaped by striking out Walker and Bryan Torres.
Texas broke the scoreless deadlock in the fourth inning against Michael McGreevy (3-5) when Brandon Nimmo crossed home plate on Duran’s two-out double that found the left field corner.
The Rangers extended their advantage in the fifth frame. Danny Jansen worked a one-out walk, successfully stole second base, advanced to third on Lopez’s single, and scored when Pederson delivered a single to center field. With runners positioned at first and third, McGreevy prevented additional damage when Josh Jung hit into a double play.
McGreevy completed six innings for St. Louis, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and one strikeout.
Peyton Gray took over for deGrom at the start of the sixth inning and recorded two outs before Winn connected for the Cardinals’ only run with a solo blast to left field. The 384-foot shot marked Winn’s second home run of the campaign.
