deGrom's triumphant Citi Field return sends Rangers to 5th straight win 

NEW YORK -- Right-hander Jacob deGrom heard the roar from the crowd at Citi Field on Friday night -- and deservedly so. He returned to the stadium for the first time since leaving the Mets for the Rangers in free agency before the 2023 season.

deGrom spent his first nine seasons with New York and was the ace of the pitching staff, posting a 2.52 ERA in 209 starts and winning a pair of Cy Young Awards in 2018 and ‘19 before back, shoulder and arm injuries derailed his 2021 and ‘22 campaigns.

Not surprisingly, the Mets gave him a video tribute while deGrom tipped his cap to the 41,040 fans. deGrom was emotional watching the video, but realized he had to get ready for the game.

“It was really cool,” deGrom said. “This is where it all started and, coming back here, I thought it was going to be a very special day. I’m thankful for the Mets for playing that [video]. These fans were great to me when I was here. That was a really nice thing to do.”

A half-hour later, deGrom was on the mound for Texas and had his way -- aside from one inning -- in an 8-3 victory. The Rangers have won five consecutive games -- six out of their past seven -- and find themselves two games behind the Astros and Mariners for first place in the American League West.

“It’s an entire team effort of trying to win,” deGrom said. “We are right in it now. We just have to keep going.”

deGrom (12-7) pitched seven innings, allowed three runs on four hits and struck out two batters. His only hiccup occurred in the third inning. After Francisco Alvarez led off with an opposite-field home run, Cedric Mullins and Francisco Lindor reached base on a single and double, respectively, to put runners on second and third. Juan Soto followed and drove in the second run for New York with a sacrifice fly that sent Mullins home. Pete Alonso also had a sac fly that brought Lindor home and cut the Rangers' lead to 6-3.

After the Lindor double, deGrom retired the next 15 hitters he faced.

"Just knowing that you're going to get a bulldog fight up there, he's always going to come after you with everything he's got, and he showed that again tonight,” Mets left fielder Brandon Nimmo said. “It's kind of what I expected, and it's what we got."

deGrom was able to regroup from that third inning after looking at video and deciding to locate the ball better.

“I went in between [innings] and I looked at the pitches they were hitting off me. On some of those, I have to tip my cap,” he said. “They are good hitters over there and I said, ‘Hey, we have to mix it up a little more and not be so one-dimensional.'”

The start on Friday was different for deGrom. It felt like he was making his Major League debut. He wasn’t afraid to acknowledge that he was nervous before the game. It was weird for deGrom to face former teammates Nimmo, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil. The only time he faced them before Friday was during live batting practice sessions in Spring Training.

“Those guys were my teammates, as well. Knowing them, they are all good guys,” deGrom said. “But when it’s time to compete, you have to figure out a way to get them out.”

Texas gave deGrom all the runs he would need in the first inning by scoring six against Mets rookie right-hander Jonah Tong -- all with two outs. Cody Freeman and Michael Helman highlighted the scoring by driving in two runs apiece on a single and double, respectively. The Rangers’ six runs were the most first-inning runs deGrom’s team has scored in any start of his career.

“To score six runs with two outs and two strikes, that’s always big,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “It got contagious. Just putting the ball in play, drawing their walks. Any time you put up six in the first inning, that’s a good thing.”

The Rangers added to the scoring six innings later when pinch-hitter Dylan Moore swung at an 0-2 pitch and hit a two-run homer off Gregory Soto to make it a five-run game.

The way deGrom was talking after the game, he hopes to play five or six more years before he calls it quits. Asked if he was a Baseball Hall of Famer, deGrom said, “I just try to go out there and pitch. … My goal is to just keep it going.”

What about having his number retired at Citi Field?

“That’s not really my decision. It’s a huge honor. Every time I took this mound for the Mets, I felt I left it all out there. There were some times where I got injured. You can’t really control that.”