Jacob deGrom Hit 100.5 mph Twice Against Cleveland. That’s Not a Fluke Anymore.

Jacob deGrom looked like his old self Tuesday night. The kind of old self that used to make hitters look helpless and radar guns look broken.

He went seven innings against the Cleveland Guardians, gave up four hits and two earned runs, walked nobody and punched out nine. The Rangers won 4-2. But the final score almost felt secondary to what deGrom showed on the mound at Progressive Field.

MLB’s Sarah Langs pointed out the numbers that jumped off the screen. deGrom topped out at 100.5 mph twice. That’s his fastest velocity since April 23, 2023 when he hit 101.0. He struck a guy out at 100.0 mph even, his fastest K pitch in over three years. And he threw five pitches at 100 mph or harder, his most in a single game since April 11, 2023.

Those dates matter. That April 2023 start was his last before the elbow gave out and he needed surgery. So watching him pump triple-digits in late June 2026 means something more than just a good start. It means the arm is coming back.

Now deGrom is 38 years old. Pitchers that age don’t usually rediscover elite velocity after major surgery. But he wasn’t just throwing hard Tuesday. He was throwing hard with command. He didn’t walk anyone. He lived in the strike zone and dared Cleveland to do something with it. They mostly couldn’t.

A needed win for Texas

The Rangers have been hanging around .500 all year, stuck in neutral while trying to figure out who they are. Tuesday’s win pushed them to 44-42, their sixth straight victory. They’re now a game up on Seattle in the AL West.

That winning streak started before deGrom’s gem, sure. But a rotation with a healthy deGrom at the top looks completely different than one without him. He gives that staff a ceiling it hasn’t had since he got hurt. And if this start is real, if he can build on it, the Rangers go from a team that might hang around to one that could actually make some noise in the second half.

It’s one start. Nobody’s handing him the Cy Young again just yet. But the stuff was there Tuesday night. The velocity, the command, the presence. That matters for a Rangers team that needs every win it can get.