Jacob deGrom gets six-run cushion in emotional return to Citi Field as Rangers beat Mets 8-3

Jacob deGrom received an early offensive outburst and steady pitching in his first start back at Citi Field, and the Texas Rangers beat the New York Mets 8-3 on Friday night.

The Rangers scored six runs in the first inning against rookie Jonah Tong — knocking the youngster out of the game before he could record three outs — and built a lead deGrom protected for seven innings. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner yielded three runs in the third on a Francisco Álvarez solo homer and sacrifice flies by Juan Soto and Pete Alonso, then retired the final 15 batters he faced en route to an 88-pitch outing that improved his record to 12-7.

DeGrom, who spent nine seasons with the Mets, was honored before the game with a video tribute and his customary warmup song, Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Simple Man,” playing over the Citi Field sound system. He tipped his cap to the crowd, called the night “special” and said the moment meant a great deal to him.

"I spent nine years here and everybody here was good to me, the fans and the organization," deGrom said. "That was really cool. This is where it all started, and coming back here, I thought it was going to be a very special day."

After the first-inning eruption, deGrom used efficient pitching to keep the score intact. He needed just six pitches to complete a 1-2-3 first inning and nine more in the second. Following the Mets' third-inning rally, deGrom produced four consecutive 1-2-3 frames beginning in the fourth. The frame also featured the ejection of Jeff McNeil after a called third strike.

The Rangers added insurance runs later and turned an 8-3 lead over to their bullpen in the eighth. Texas' offense provided rare early support for deGrom: during his 209 regular-season starts with the Mets, the club had scored six or more runs with him on the mound only 29 times and had produced at least six in a single inning only four times.

The outing represented deGrom's 28th start of the season, his most since 2019, after he missed significant time earlier in his Texas contract following a second career Tommy John surgery. The five-time All-Star signed a five-year, $185 million deal with Texas after the 2022 season but appeared in just nine games across his first two years under the contract.

"You find out you're going to miss some significant time," deGrom said. "At my age at the time, there is some unknown. But once it happens there's only one thing you can do. Take each day and do what I can to get back to a major league mound … and compete at the level I wanted to compete at."

The 37-year-old ranks fourth in the American League with a 2.82 ERA this season and said he still enjoys the game, leaving open the possibility of pitching into his 40s. "Why not? Try to keep it going. I enjoy playing this game," he said.

For the Mets, the loss extended a skid to seven straight games. New York scored all three of its runs off deGrom in the third inning but was unable to mount a comeback. The Rangers' win handed deGrom a rare night of ample run support in the ballpark where he rose to prominence and underscored his return to durability and effectiveness late in the season.