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Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi gets truth bomb after 8-strikeout effort vs. Reds

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Preston Byers | Last updated 4/27/24

Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi proved to be stellar in his latest start against the Cincinnati Reds, as he struck eight batters and allowed just one run in six innings of work. And his strong performance drew praise from teammate Marcus Semien.

Semien, the Rangers’ second baseman who hit a solo home run, scoring one of his team’s two runs in the 2-1 victory, commended Eovaldi for his outing on the mound (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 8 K) and indicated that the team’s offense is the only thing really holding back the defending World Series champions so far 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 has not been the only strong Rangers pitcher so far this season. Jon Gray, Cody Bradford, and Michael Lorenzen each have sub-3.00 ERAs, with Bradford sporting a 3-0 record, 1.40 ERA, and the lowest H9 of any Rangers starter this year. Bradford has since been placed on the 15-day IL with what was listed as a lower back strain at the time. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy revealed yesterday, though, that the team’s medical staff detected 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.

Game 2 of the Rangers and Reds’ series is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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