30-18 - Nate is great again as Rangers punt Pirates 6-1
The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Pittsburgh Pirates scored one run.
The Rangers are the fourth team in baseball to win No. 30 this season as Nathan Eovaldi once again did his part to bullpen-proof the baseball contest with another complete game.
Meanwhile, while Eovaldi was doing the heavy-lifting, the Rangers bats were able to bear down on old man Rich Hill for five runs in 5 1⁄ 3 innings with Josh Jung adding some always welcome insurance with a solo home run in the top of the 8th.
The victory guarantees that Texas will not have to share the lead in the AL West for at least another day and puts them within striking distance of taking this series tomorrow.
Player of the Game: Eovaldi tossed nine innings of one-run ball on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. It’s his second complete game of the season and nearly his third in five starts.
Eovaldi wasn’t as dominant with the Ks as in recent efforts but he remained efficient with his full nine frames of work coming on 104 pitches.
Eovaldi went into his final start in April sporting a disappointing 5.20 ERA. Since then, in his last five starts including tonight, Eovaldi has dropped that number to 2.60 as he’s pitched 41 2⁄ 3 of a possible 45 innings and has allowed a total of four runs.
Up Next: The Rangers and Pirates reconvene for the rubber match of this three-game set with LHP Martin Perez next up for Texas opposite RHP Johan Oviedo for Pittsburgh.
The Thursday morning pitch from PNC Park is scheduled for 11:35 am CT and will be aired on BS Southwest.
Source: Lone Star Ball
