The anticipation was high for Jacob deGrom’s last two starts. However, concerns arose when deGrom was pulled from his last start after two innings due to right triceps fatigue. At 38, every setback sounds ominous. But not for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. When the number beside deGrom turned to 2000, Globe Life Field rose for a standing ovation as the veteran pitcher tipped his hat.

“Jacob deGrom reaches 2,000 strikeouts in the fewest innings ever by a right-handed pitcher,” reported Talkin’ Baseball on X.

Against the Washington Nationals on Thursday, Jacob deGrom threw his season-best 10 strikeouts for the third time. In six brilliant innings, deGrom shut down the Nationals, allowing only one hit and one walk.

deGrom’s moment in history came in the first frame of the game.

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Fanning the first two hitters of his 10 K’s, deGrom earned the coveted 2000 strikeout mark. As a right-hander, he reached the milestone in the fewest innings. During the Rangers’ 2-0 win, Daylen Lile and Albimelec Ortiz went down chasing sliders below the zone for strike three. Ortiz became the victim of his 2000th strikeout.

In his scoreless six innings, deGrom allowed both the walk and the hit to Brady House. The Rangers’ bullpen, including Jacob Latz, Chase Silseth, and Jakob Junis, kept the game scoreless after deGrom exited.

Jacob deGrom is in his third year with the Rangers. He signed a 5-year, $185 million contract before the 2023 season. But the pitcher has only played sparingly since then due to injuries.

Before 2025, the last full season deGrom played was during the pandemic-shortened 2020 with the New York Mets.

Plagued by multiple injuries, including a scapular stress reaction and a second Tommy John surgery, he made only 35 starts from 2021 to 2024. However, he bounced back last season, posting a 2.97 ERA and a 12-8 record across 30 starts.

After deGrom reached the milestone, Rangers’ manager Skip Schumaker praised the 38-year-old’s perseverance.

“It’s Chris Sale and deGrom; that’s it right now, at that age, doing it still at this elite level,” Schumaker said, per MLB.com.

“It just means he’s done it for a long time at an extremely high level. Today was kind of vintage deGrom. That’s what it looked like when I faced him back in the day. I’m not kidding you — that’s exactly how it looked. It was just a dominant performance.”

While deGrom made his MLB debut in 2014 with the New York Mets, Schumaker was almost at the end of his career, retiring in 2015. They faced each other several times during that span when the Mets went against the Cincinnati Reds. Even though deGrom could never strike out his now-manager, the mound dominance was evident.

12 years back, he finished his season, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award, recording a 2.69 ERA and 144 SOs in 140.1 innings pitched. Just the next season, in 2015, the ERA dropped to 2.54, with 205 SOs in 191 innings pitched. He became an All-Star that year and came 7th in NL CY-Young Voting.

Even with limited appearances, he has been consistent throughout. And looking back, yes, it has been long.

His first-ever strikeout victim was now-retired 46-year-old Mark Teixeira in 2014. And his latest one came against a 24-year-old Ortiz. During his career, he has also struck out his current teammates Corey Seager and Joc Pederson.

deGrom became the fourth player this season to record 2000 strikeouts. He joined Kevin Gausman, Sonny Gray, and Aaron Nola on the list. Nola reached the milestone on August 8. The RHP also became the 95th player in all-time to achieve the feat, per Elias Sports Bureau.

deGrom recorded the feat in 1666.1 innings and 272 games. He has needed the second-fewest games and innings in MLB history to reach the milestone. Hall of Famer Randy Johnson leads the league, having recorded 2000 strikeouts in 262 games. Chris Sale, on the other hand, is the leader in fewest innings ( 1,626) by all pitchers.

On Thursday, deGrom surpassed Clayton Kershaw (277 games) and Yu Darvish (1697.1 innings) to occupy second place. He also became the third pitcher in franchise history to record 2000 strikeouts. Before deGrom, Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins (Aug. 31, 1974) and Cole Hamels (June 12, 2016) are former Rangers players who recorded 2000 strikeouts.

After Thursday, deGrom’s career splits read: 2.66 ERA across 1666.1 innings with 2008 strikeouts in 272 games. Following his achievement, deGrom candidly shared his feelings.

Jacob deGrom pleased with his achievement

The New York Mets drafted Jacob deGrom out of Stetson College in Round 9 of the 2010 MLB draft. 13 seasons after his MLB debut, deGrom has etched his name into the history of baseball. After the game, deGrom shared his feelings about recording 2000 strikeouts in the second-fewest games and innings.

“It was a very special moment. I have been fortunate enough to play this game for a while, like I told the guys in there. I’m so excited to be here and do it with that group,” said deGrom on Rangers Sports Network.

“…So, getting that 2,000 was obviously a very cool personal accomplishment for me. And it was funny, Corey, before I walked out there, he goes, how about we get this done quick? So, you know, I got to give him some credit for that.”

However, deGrom is not one to let personal achievements distract him.

He stated that he is currently focused on winning games for the Texas Rangers and helping the team reach the playoffs. deGrom has posted a 3.77 ERA with a 9-8 record across 24 starts this season.

“We got each other’s backs. We gotta play really good baseball from here on out and try to get in the playoffs. That’s the main goal right now. And hopefully do something special in October,” said deGrom postgame.

The Rangers have not won a World Series since 2023 and are behind the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card race. The Twins hold the final AL Wild Card spot. As Corey Seager probably fired Jacob deGrom up, the whole team needs that kick to turn their 26-30% postseason probability into an actual appearance.