CHICAGO -- Nathan Eovaldi likes a good, old-fashioned pitchers’ duel. He likes it even better on the road, with the potential opportunity to silence a home crowd and keep them from having an effect on a game. 

Eovaldi rose to the occasion in his first road start of the season on Friday afternoon, leaving the crowd at Wrigley Field without much to cheer about for most of the game. But he unfortunately came on the losing end of the pitchers’ duel, as Cubs starter Marcus Stroman shut down the Rangers’ offense and Eovaldi’s few mistakes led to a 2-0 loss to open the road trip in Chicago. 

“He had good stuff, a good mix,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He just competes so well. And I'm sure he probably wanted to stay out there [to finish the sixth], but that was far enough with where the pitches were.

"But I thought he had had all his pitches going today. He did a nice job of coming back sometimes when he got behind. He really came back very well on two or three different times. He was good. I'll take that, two runs. He's thrown the ball well, so that's great.”

Eovaldi cruised through the first three innings, allowing just one walk and no hits as he faced the minimum after inducing a double play to end the third frame. The right-hander allowed traffic on the bases in the fourth and sixth innings, leading to the only times he wasn’t able to keep the Wrigley crowd at bay.

The 33-year-old starter said it was just those two scenarios -- a hanging curveball to Cody Bellinger in the fourth and a cutter to Ian Happ in the sixth -- that really changed the game.

“I felt good,” Eovaldi said postgame. “I made some mechanical adjustments after the first start, and I felt like I was a lot more free out there. It's just frustrating not being able to bear down right there and get the job done. Other than that, it was a really good game. I felt like the splitter was better, the curveballs were better. I used my pitches more efficiently and we were able to get big double play balls when we needed it. I kept us in the game and, unfortunately for us, we just didn't come out on top of that.”

Since outscoring the Phillies 29-11 on Opening Weekend, the Rangers have been outscored 13-7 over the next four games against the Orioles and Cubs. And while the pitching is back on track across the board after facing Philadelphia, the offense has been shutout twice and struggled to string together hits.

But Eovaldi is a big proponent of pitching winning championships. If the rotation and bullpen continue on this track, the losses will quickly turn into wins.

“The offense is going to get it going,” Eovaldi said. “They're gonna do their job. It's only a matter of time. You gotta tip your hat to Stroman as well today. There's gonna be times when we don't come out on top and then other times we will. I think it's more keeping with it. Guys are good at-bats. I like our chances a lot.”

Though he took the loss, Eovaldi’s start is exactly what the Rangers wanted and hoped for when they signed him to a two-year, $34 million deal this offseason.

While his addition was notable for a Rangers pitching staff that has struggled through the last six losing seasons, Eovaldi was likely overshadowed -- externally, not internally, if you ask Bochy -- by the subsequent addition of Jacob deGrom last winter.

But Eovaldi has been the guy on a pitching staff before. He’s started on Opening Days, he’s received Cy Young votes and he’s made an All-Star appearance. His health and sustainability this season are just as important to the Rangers’ success -- especially in light of Jake Odorizzi's season-ending surgery -- as deGrom’s is sure to be.

“He is [a big part of the pitching staff],” Bochy said. “He never went unnoticed with us, it was a huge signing to get him, trust me. I’ve always admired his pitching, so he’s just a big part of the staff. I mean, he follows Jacob in the rotation. It's good to have him healthy and throwing the ball well. If he keeps throwing the ball like this, we’re going to be fine.”