The Texas Rangers will look to build on their hot start to the second half of the season when they host the swooning Atlanta Braves on Friday in the opener of a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas.
Texas will send right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (7-3, 1.58 ERA) to the mound as the Braves counter with left-hander Joey Wentz (a combined 2-1, 5.71 with three major league teams).
The Rangers have won three straight games — and five of their six since the All-Star break — to climb to three games over the .500 mark for the first time since May 17. Texas’ nine wins in 12 games matches its best stretch of the season (9-3 from March 28-April 9).
Atlanta has dropped two straight and four of its six games since the break. The Braves headed to Texas after losing 9-3 to San Francisco on Wednesday.
Eovaldi would be the Major League leader in ERA if he had enough innings to qualify and has produced 94 strikeouts in 91 innings over 16 starts. He has been clutch as the Rangers’ “other ace” alongside Jacob deGrom and is 3-0 in four starts since a month-long stint on the injured list (triceps) that ended on June 27 while lowering his ERA from 1.87 through his three appearances in July.
Eovaldi was scratched from his start Sunday with back stiffness and was in line to pitch on Wednesday against the Athletics before Rangers manager Bruce Bochy pushed him back to Friday’s game. Eovaldi said this week that he thought he could go earlier after suffering his ailment on Saturday. He was able to play catch on Sunday.
“It was just kind of one of those freak incidents,” Eovaldi said Tuesday. “I was just walking down the hall and doing like a little side oblique stretch, and just felt something grab in the middle part of my back and lock up. I guess the body goes into protect mode and tries and protect everything in there and muscles were just super tight.”
Eovaldi will go into Friday’s start with 12 days of rest, dating back to July 13 when he gave up a run on five hits and a walk and fanned eight over 7 2/3 innings in a 5-1 road win over the division-leading Houston Astros.
He has a 3-4 record and a 3.00 ERA against Atlanta in 17 career starts, allowing 36 runs (35 earned) on 90 hits and 36 walks over 105 innings while fanning 92.
Wentz, who was claimed off waivers from Minnesota in July 11, has 27 appearances this season and has started just once, posting a no-decision despite hurling four scoreless innings and allowing just two hits on Saturday against the Yankees in a game the Braves lost 12-9. It was Wentz’s first start since 2023 and he threw a season-high 59 pitches as Atlanta transitions him to a full-time starter.
“Before I got here, and really since I’ve been here, just trying to simplify the game,” Wentz explained, “simplify the matchups, not really dig too deep on anything, trust my stuff and just kind of get to a place where I’m trying to execute as many pitches as I can,”
Wentz has a 0-2 mark over four lifetime appearances, two of them starts, against Texas. His 7.11 ERA was forged through 12 runs (10 earned) in 12 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts and 10 walks.
–Field Level Media
