Bruce Bochy hails Nathan Eovaldi as Rangers continue postseason streak - "You're talking about one of the elite pitchers in the game"
Nathan Eovaldi showed why he is one of the toughest pitchers to score against in the MLB. The Texas Rangers starter went through six tough innings to hold the Houston Astros at bay as his team took a 5-4 win and swept the defending champions in leg 1 at Minute Maid Park.
Nathan Eovaldi was solid throughout the game on Monday. The Rangers took a healthy 4-run lead in the first off Framber Valdez. This allowed Eovaldi to ease himself into the game. Barring two solo shots by Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman, he remained strong on the mound.
Eovaldi's highlight of the game came in the bottom of the fifth. After giving away two leadoff singles and a fielding error by third baseman Josh Jung, who loaded the bases with no outs, the Rangers starter found himself in a tough spot. Just when he thought his past experiences with the Astros would come back to haunt him, the two-time All-Star got out of the jam.
The Astros came out swinging as pinch-hitter Yanier Diaz tried hard but was called a strike three times. Jose Altuve tried the same but added to Eovaldi's Ks count that reached a personal postseason high of nine and Bregman was out on a grounder.
Manager Bruce Bochy was all praise for his frontman, who displayed some unbelievable mettle.
“You're talking about one of the elite pitchers in the game,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “They have that ability to turn up a notch when they have to.”
Nathan Eovaldi finally has a postseason win against Astros
Nathan Eovaldi will be proud of his win in game 2 as he has had some major problems pitching against the Astros. While at the Red Sox, the 33-year-old was bruised in some unforgettable outings against them, including a game in 2022 where he gave away five home runs in one inning against them.
The starter had also allowed four runs as a reliever in game 4 of the 2021 ALCS matchup. Despite a good 4.1 inning start two games later, he had earned a loss as the Astros went to the World Series.