Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was outstanding in his most recent start against the Cincinnati Reds, striking out eight batters and allowing only one run in six innings. And his impressive performance attracted plaudits from colleague Marcus Semien.
Semien, the Rangers’ second baseman who hit a solo home run and scored one of his team’s two runs in the 2-1 win, praised Eovaldi’s performance on the mound (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 8 K) and suggested that the team’s offense is the only thing holding back the defending World Series champions this season.
“Evo (Eovaldi’s nickname) is the ultimate competitor,” Semien said, per MLB.com. “We know that. We saw the postseason and he brings the same intensity in the regular season. I think if you ask him, he’s gonna say he wasn’t sharp, this and that, but I think he had a great night. He struck out a ton of guys and that’s a ballclub that swings pretty frequently. They’re aggressive and he took advantage.
“I mean, if you put the offense we had last year together with the bullpen we have this year, we win every game. But once we get it together [offensively], we’ll really get rolling.”
So far this season, Eovaldi has pitched 36 innings over six starts and has an ERA of 3.00, WHIP of 1.222, and FIP of 3.87. Run support has been an issue, however, as he is just 1-2 in his starts despite only allowing more than three runs just once. This season, the Rangers’ offense has not scored more than five runs in any of Eovaldi’s starts.
Rangers’ so-so start to the 2024 season
Eovaldi isn’t the only excellent Rangers pitcher this season. Jon Gray, Cody Bradford, and Michael Lorenzen all have ERAs under 3.00, with Bradford posting a 3-0 record, 1.40 ERA, and the lowest H9 of any Rangers starter this season. Bradford has since been placed on a 15-day IL for what was initially diagnosed as a lower back strain. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy disclosed Wednesday, however, that the team’s medical staff discovered a “very small stress fracture in the 12th rib on the right side” and would need to miss at least another month.
The Rangers’ bullpen and batting both rank above league average, but that hasn’t done much for the Rangers’ win-loss record so far. After finishing atop the AL West with a 90-72 record and winning the World Series, Texas currently sits in second in its division with a 14-13 record.
The defending champions started the season off well enough by winning six of their first eight games, but they hit a rough patch that has become the norm over the past few weeks. Since their 6-2 start, the Rangers are 8-11 and split their games evenly this week, with three wins and three losses. A win either today or tomorrow would go a long way to avoid yet another series loss, though; the Rangers have lost four of their last five series, which certainly hasn’t helped their early-season record.
