Jacob deGrom had a start like no other he’s ever had in the major leagues. The two-time Cy Young Award winner didn’t strike out a batter for the first time in his career.

“I actually didn’t know that. I heard it when I walked inside, but they were aggressive early,” deGrom said after going 5 1/3 innings for the Texas Rangers in his 229th career game (all starts), a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

It was the first loss in the past seven starts for the 36-year-old deGrom (4-2), who has made 11 starts overall this season after missing most of the last two years following his second Tommy John surgery.

Daulton Varsho hit a solo homer in the first inning, and the only other run deGrom allowed came on a sacrifice fly. He gave up five hits and walked two before manager Bruce Bochy pulled him in the sixth after 81 pitches.

“They were putting a lot of balls in play early.

So I was like, oh man, I might be able to go deep in this game ... let’s see how deep I can go in this and try to keep them off the board,” deGrom said.

“Fighting myself, started yanking the ball, walked a couple guys, just wasn’t very efficient.”

As for pulling deGrom in a 2-1 game, Bochy said he wanted to lighten the load on a pitcher who threw 103 pitches over seven innings against the New York Yankees last Wednesday and at least 90 pitches in each of his two starts before that.

“He’s been working pretty hard,” Bochy said.

DeGrom has 1,728 career strikeouts, and entered Monday’s game with a 30.9% career strikeout rate. He had multiple strikeouts in all but one of his previous 228 starts, at Philadelphia on Sept. 16, 2020, when he had only one strikeout before exiting after two innings with a right hamstring spasm.

There are no physical issues this time, and deGrom said he hasn’t even thought about his workload — 63 1/3 innings through 11 starts. He threw only 64 1/3 innings during his final season with the New York Mets in 2022, when he didn’t make his first big league start until Aug. 2 after being shut down late in spring training because of a stress reaction in his right scapula.

The right-hander threw just 41 innings combined the past two seasons after signing a $185 million, five-year contract with Texas in free agency.

BREWERS SEND DOWN HENDERSON

Despite being one of the best pitchers in the Milwaukee Brewers’ injury-plagued rotation, Logan Henderson is headed for the minors.

The Brewers optioned Henderson to Triple-A Nashville while reinstating DL Hall from the 60-day injured list.

Henderson has compiled a 3-0 record and a 1.71 ERA over his first four career starts this season.

He became the first pitcher in franchise history to win his first three major league games.

Henderson leads the Brewers starting staff in ERA and in strikeouts per nine innings (12.4).

Manager Pat Murphy said “the kid has been so good,” but with the Brewers expecting the return of two other key rotation members, the timing is right to send him down.

Along with Hall, the Brewers expect the return of José Quintana, who has been out with a left shoulder impingement, and Brandon Woodruff, a former top-of-the rotation starter and two-time All-Star who hasn’t pitched in the majors since September 2023 after undergoing major shoulder surgery.

PIRATES CALL UP PITCHER ASHCRAFT

The Pittsburgh Pirates recalled one of their top pitching prospects, promoting right-hander Braxton Ashcraft from Triple-A Indianapolis.

The 25-year-old Ashcraft pitched three scoreless innings of relief in his major league debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

Ashcraft was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2018 amateur draft. He was 3-3 with a 5.03 ERA in 10 starts for Indianapolis this season, striking out 56 in 48 1/3 innings.