The day before facing Gerrit Cole and the Yankees on Sunday afternoon, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi spoke to MLB.com on a variety of topics from the Rangers’ success this season to working with pitching coach Mike Maddux and manager Bruce Bochy.

MLB.com: Tell us what it is like to pitch for the Rangers.

Nathan Eovaldi: It has been great. We knew what we had coming in from Spring Training until this point. The players are just going out there and executing and bonding as a team. We have been playing really good ball.

MLB.com: You have a chance to pitch 200 innings for the first time in your career. What would it mean to reach that milestone?

Eovaldi: That's been a personal goal I wanted to achieve. I want to say, in 2021 -- including the postseason -- I was able to get there. In 2014, I was really close. I was one out away. The times that I have been able to stay healthy, I’ve been able to accumulate a lot of innings. … The main thing is, being healthy, honest with our training staff and the team. If anything pops up, we are able to take care of it.

MLB.com: You are having a great season. How would you rank it in terms of your other years in the league?

Eovaldi: I think it comes down to consistency, being locked in with my mechanics. I feel when I’m locked in with my mechanics, I have good results out there. Mike Maddux has been doing a great job this year with the preparation and in-game adjustments. I don’t feel like I’m going through it alone. I have him. I have [catcher] Jonah [Heim] and, obviously, the coaching staff. We have been able to make those mid-game adjustments. I feel like, lately, the last three or four starts, it’s been the second or third inning [when] I’ve been able to lock it in and go deep in the game.

MLB.com: What’s the biggest thing you learned from Maddux?

Eovaldi: There are a lot of different things. I’ve been saying his scouting reports are really good -- preparing the pitching staff for the opponents we are facing. We are not getting too hyped up on the names we are facing. Everybody has their weaknesses and we are trying to expose them.

MLB.com: The Rangers are talented this year. What is the most pleasant surprise about them?

Eovaldi: I think it has been the pitching. It’s been the biggest part of it. Last year, the Rangers were scoring a lot of runs, but we were giving up a lot of runs. The offense has been extremely good, the defense has been great. I would say the pitching has been the biggest factor. The starting pitching -- if everybody can stay healthy, good things can come from that. The teams that I’ve been on in the past [that] have been successful have had the starters stay in there for a while. When you have six or seven starters, it helps out even though you might lose one or two along the way. There are going to be ups and downs -- and as long as we are getting through [them] together as a team, that’s a big factor that comes out of it.

MLB.com: Do you see comparisons to the 2018 Red Sox?

Eovaldi: I do, yeah. [You have to have] the offense -- being able to throw up the runs -- and the pitching staff. [We have] enough starters in the rotation. That’s one of the big reasons I wanted to come here. [It was] because of the starters that we have in the rotation and the additions that the Rangers added on top of me coming over. I think pitching wins championships. You saw what the Astros were able to do last year -- especially when they had to face the Phillies, one of the hottest opponents going into the World Series. The Phillies were not able to shut the Astros down, pitching-wise.

MLB.com: Even without Jacob deGrom, the pitching staff is really good. What Dane Dunning did the other day against the Yankees had to be encouraging.

Eovaldi: Dunning has been able to step up really big for us. … The pitching staff knows they belong here. You have Martín Pérez, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, myself. We have other guys in Triple-A who are knocking on the door ready to come up. Cody Bradford has been able to come up and do a great job filling in some more innings. Again, it’s being able to go out there and go deep into the game.

MLB.com: How do you feel about being the ace of the staff?

Eovaldi: I don’t necessarily look at it that way. I love pitching in the big games, big moments. I think all of the guys that we have in the rotation have that opportunity to be the ace. … That’s what makes our rotation so special. We have a lot of experience. With our offense, that makes us very special and dangerous.

MLB.com: Could you talk about the impact Bruce Bochy has made on the team this season?

Eovaldi: Everybody knows the experience that he brings to a team -- the success he has had in the past with the three World Series championships. Anytime he speaks, everybody listens. It’s great having him around. All the experience from the past helps us out.

MLB.com: Tell me something Bochy did that made you say, “This guy is really good.”

Eovaldi: I have to say Spring Training. It’s the first time I ever met him and was able to talk to him. The initial speech he gave us, it helps out. You need to have that good strong message to come across to bring the team together.

MLB.com: What was the message?

Eovaldi: We are all here together as one. Everything you do, you are doing it for each other. It’s a long season. You have to become a family and a close-knit group of guys -- and I think that’s what we have here.

MLB.com: With you and Bochy on this team, how far can the Rangers go?

Eovaldi: I believe we can go all the way. We felt that from Spring Training. We knew the talent that we have. It was just coming together because of [Bochy]. … We knew we could hit. We knew that last year. The guys were able to score a lot of runs. It gets overlooked because we gave up so many more runs. Now, everything is coming together. We plan to take it the whole way.