This Bruce Bochy gamble paid off in Rangers' series opening win over Astros

The Silver Boot Series started with one heck of a pitcher's duel between Jacob deGrom and the Hunter Brown, and the two-time Cy Young winner came out on top. Despite the 1-0 win in the series opener, which they will gladly take, Bruce Bochy took a gamble that may not have been necessary.

Bochy was like a craps player on a hot streak last night gambling with the world-class arm of deGrom, pushing him beyond his typical 85-90 pitch limit, letting the right-hander throw 96 pitches in eight innings.

Jake Burger's opposite-field solo dinger allowed Bochy to stretch him beyond the pitch limit he has stuck to steadfastly for deGrom all season. And the gamble paid off as he made quick work of the Astros in the 8th, which was his longest outing since April 23, 2021.

Was stretching deGrom beyond 90 pitches worth the risk?

The arguments for the extended workload are these: deGrom was simply nails in the game fanning seven and allowing just five hits, so as long as he's good, leave him in.

Also the Rangers' bullpen is a M.A.S.H. unit right now as they lost Luke Jackson and Chris Martin on back-to-back nights during the series sweep over Colorado. These are Bochy's "baby needs a new pair of shoes" arguments.

But, it's also only May 15, and it is his duty as a Future Hall of Fame manager to protect the Rangers' biggest mound investment. The Rangers will only go as far as deGrom, and to a lesser extent, Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle will take them this year.

Does this mean that the organization is now comfortable with a new pitch count of 95-100? We will see. Last night. however, the dice came up lucky number seven and the Rangers have won six in a row for the first time since their playoff run two years ago.