ARLINGTON, Texas — Behind another overpowering outing from Jacob deGrom, the Texas Rangers continued their turnaround Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs at Globe Life Field, clinching their first series victory in nearly three weeks.
Texas followed Saturday’s 6-0 shutout with another dominant pitching performance, marking the club’s first consecutive shutouts since August of last season. The Rangers also snapped a streak of four straight series losses while improving to 9-9 at home.
deGrom looked every bit like the ace Texas envisioned when it signed him, carving through Chicago’s lineup for seven scoreless innings. The right-hander allowed only three hits, walked none, and struck out 10 on 94 pitches in one of his sharpest starts of the season.
The outing marked the 63rd double-digit strikeout game of deGrom’s career, placing him fourth among active pitchers. He also reached the 1,900-strikeout milestone in the first inning, becoming one of the fastest pitchers in major league history to accomplish the feat by both games and innings pitched.
Chicago didn’t record a baserunner until Nico Hoerner opened the fourth inning with a double. By then, deGrom had already retired the first nine batters he faced and was firmly in control.
Texas finally broke through in the fourth against Jameson Taillon. Josh Jung singled to lead off the inning and later scored on an RBI fielder’s choice from Alejandro Osuna, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Jung continued his torrid stretch at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 for the second consecutive game. The Rangers third baseman now owns five three-hit games this season and has emerged as one of the club’s most consistent bats over the past month.
Texas added breathing room in the eighth when Evan Carter launched a two-run homer into the right-field seats off Daniel Palencia. The blast was Carter’s fifth home run of the season, matching his career high.
The Rangers’ pitching staff has now put together 20 consecutive scoreless innings, its longest streak since last July, while recording five shutout victories this season — tied for second-most in the American League.
The Cubs, meanwhile, were blanked for a second straight game and have now gone 20 innings without scoring. Chicago managed just five hits Sunday and dropped its first series since late April.
Taillon was tagged with the loss despite a solid outing, allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings. Hoerner provided the lone bright spot offensively for Chicago with two hits after entering the day in a slump.
