Eovaldi can't contain Baltimore bats in Rangers' loss

ARLINGTON -- The last time Nathan Eovaldi faced the Orioles at Globe Life Field, he walked off the mound and received a curtain call from the fans after a dominant outing in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, capping off a sweep of the No. 1 seed in the 2023 postseason.

The Rangers, looking for a resurgence in the second half, could've used that version of Eovaldi on Friday night. After all, the already inconsistent offense had to face 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes. Eovaldi would have to keep it close for Texas to get the second half started with a win.

Instead, the Rangers' ace struggled as much as he ever has at Globe Life Field during his two years in Texas. Eovaldi allowed six runs on eight hits in five innings as Texas fell, 9-1, to Baltimore to kick off the second half. It was his first loss at home in 2024, as he was undefeated in Arlington over his last 15 starts (including postseason) dating back to his last defeat on Sept. 5, 2023 against Houston.

“I was excited to be back out there on the field,” Eovaldi said. “It’s just frustrating that I didn’t go out there and do my job.”

Eovaldi gave up a trio of two-run homers to Adley Rutschman, Anthony Santander and Colton Cowser. Santander hit a three-run shot off Jonathan Hérnandez in the seventh inning when the game was already out of reach.

It was Eovaldi’s first time allowing three or more homers in a game since he conceded a career worst five homers on May 17, 2022, against the Astros when he was a member of the Red Sox. All three homers he allowed on Friday came when he was ahead in the count.

“Yeah, I wasn’t executing my pitches when I was ahead in the count,” Eovaldi said. “I felt like I hung some curveballs. The splitters were up a little bit. The fastball command wasn’t very good. I just felt like I didn't really execute a lot of my pitches very well tonight.”

The Orioles are a good team, there’s no doubt about that. They have the second-best record in the American League for a reason. But Eovaldi just couldn’t bear down for most of the night to keep the Rangers within striking distance -- even if it didn’t matter at the end with the offense limping to the finish line.

“I felt like in the first inning, I threw a lot of pitches and I want to try to go as deep as I can into the game, so I tried to attack the hitters in different ways,” Eovaldi explained. “I feel like a lot of the time the lineups will have an approach coming in. I was trying to use the cutter inside and I felt like they were able to fight it off pretty well and then I tried to counteract that the next time through the lineup. It was a bit of cat and a mouse [game].”

The six runs he surrendered were the most runs he's given up in a start this season, and tied for the second most he’s given up in two years with the club. The only other time he’s allowed six runs in a home game was on April 12, 2023, against the Royals, which was his third start in a Rangers uniform.

It was also only the third time this season that Eovaldi hasn’t pitched into the sixth inning.

“They're a good hitting ballclub,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Their strength is hitting the ball out of the ballpark and they got some pitches and took advantage of it. Nate’s been so good, but tonight they didn’t miss some pitches. The long ball got us.”

Eovaldi’s velocity was down across the board, though the right-hander said that wasn’t something he was concerned with. He said he felt perfectly fine. It was his mechanics that were out of whack.

“Mechanically, I felt a little bit off,” Eovaldi said. “I felt like I was rushing down the mound a little bit and I was flying open. A lot of the times when I do my pauses and hesitations, it deceives the hitter a little bit, but it also helps me out when I go to execute my pitches. Those are usually my fastest ones. Tonight I felt like I just couldn't slow down.”