TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat the White Sox, 5-2, in last night’s series opener, and is now 1-0 on this 7-day, 6-game road trip at CWS (1-0 + 2 G) and NYY (3 G)…Rangers have won 3 straight and 4 of last 6 G, but have still dropped 5 of 9 and 7 of last 12 G…team is 10-7 in June, and has still won 12 of 20, 16 of 25, 19 of 29, and 27 of last 41 G (beg. 5/6)…team still has MLB-best 31-16 (.660) record since 4/28, outscoring its opponents 283-186 (+97) over that span…TEX is 37-21 in last 58 G and 41-23 last 64 G beg. 4/9.
- At 45-27 (.625), TEX owns the 3rd-best record in MLB behind only TB (.680, 51-24) and ATL (.639, 46-26)…club’s 45 wins also rank 3rd in MLB (51-TB, 46-ATL, 45-TEX).
- The 45-27 start is 2nd-best 72-G start to a season in WSH/ TEX franchise history (see chart below).
- TEX is 18 G above .500, 2 shy of season high point of 20- over after win 6/6 vs. STL (40-20)…it was team’s most games above .500 since end of 2016 (95-67) and the earliest date/ fewest games (6/6 and 60 G) ever to reach that mark.
SERIES STUFF: TEX needs a win tonight or tomorrow to secure a series win in this 3-G set at CWS (1-0)…took 2 of 3 vs. TOR on Fri.-Sun., as this would be 1st time to win back-to-back series since stretch of 6 consecutive series victories from 5/19-6/7 (longest span for team since club-record 10 straight series victories from 5/20-6/20/16)…club is 16-6-1 overall in series this year, going 8-3-1 at home and 8-3-0 on the road…is 12-3-1 in last 15 series and 15-4-1 in last 19… TEX also won a franchise record 6 straight road series from 5/5-31, and is 6-1-0 in last 7 and 8-2-0 in last 10 away series.
ON THE ROAD: TEX is 21-14 (.600) on the road, 4th-best away record in MLB (ATL 22-11, .667; ARI 21-11, .656; BAL 22-14, .611)…is 2-3 in last 5 G away from Arlington, but has still won 4 of 7, 8 of 12, 10 of 15, 12 of 18, and 15 of last 22 road G…last month, TEX tied franchise record for road wins in a calendar month with 13 in May (also Aug. 2013, 13-3).
- TEX leads MLB with 5.77 R/G on the road, and 202 runs scored in away games are 2nd-most in MLB (207-SF).
VS. CHICAGO-AL: Rangers and White Sox are scheduled to meet twice in 2023 (tonight-Wed. at CWS, 8/1-3 at TEX)… TEX is 6-8 since start of 2021…has gone 1-5-0 in last 6 season series vs. CWS, with lone win coming in 2022 (4-3)… TEX’s .389 win pct. (51-80) all-time at Guaranteed Rate is its 3rd-lowest at any active A.L. ballpark (.367, 126-217 at Fenway Park; .367, 18-31 at Yankee Stadium)…series win here on 6/10-12/22 (2-1) was TEX’s 1st since 2014, and team has not won 2 consecutive series here since 5/8-10/09 (2-1) and 6/1-3/10 (2-1)…Rangers trail in the all-time series (256-281- 3) and games in Chicago (103-161-3).
- TEX has gone 8-2 vs. A.L. Central foes in 2023, winning 6 of its last 7 G against the division…club’s .800 win pct. vs. A.L. Central is 4th-highest in MLB (TB .923, 12-1; ATL .833, 5-1; PHI .833, 5-1) and would be highest single-season win pct. against the division in team history (.673, 35-17 in 1999).
JUNGLE CAT: Josh Jung went 3-for-5 with a pair of singles and his team-leading 15th HR (tied-García) in last night’s win…the blast was also the 20th HR of Jung’s MLB career, and came in his 95th career game…he is the 2nd-fastest player in WSH/TEX franchise history to reach 20 career HR (by games) to only Chris Davis, who hit his 20th HR in career game no. 94 on 4/23/09 at TOR (credit: Stathead).
- Jung leads A.L. rookies in HR (15), H (77), RBI (44), SLG pct. (.509), OPS (.848), TB (138), and R (51) this season.
NO, THE OTHER JOSH: Josh Sborz extended his career-best 12.2-inning scoreless streak after tossing 1.0 SHO IP in the 8th last night…it is the T2nd-longest scoreless active streak in the A.L. (13.0-HOU’s Luis Garcia, 12.2-Sborz/TB’s Drew Rasmussen), and the longest by a Texas reliever in 2023…over his last 14 G (beg. 5/7), Sborz is 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA (5 ER/19.0 IP), 26 SO/6 BB, and a .152 opp. BA (10-66).
- Sborz has struck out 38 of 111 (34.2%) batters faced in ’23, which ranks 7th among A.L. relievers (min. 25.0 IP) and would be the highest SO pct. of his career (32.0% in 2022).
NASTY NATE: Tonight’s scheduled starter Nathan Eovaldi ranks among A.L. leaders this season in innings (2nd, 93.2), HR/9 (2nd, 0.58), wins (T2nd, 9), WHIP (3rd, 0.98), ERA (4th, 2.59), opp. OPS (6th, .614), and opp. BA (8th, .217)…with a win tonight, he would become just the 8th pitcher in franchise history to record 10+ wins in his first 15 starts of a season, 1st since Yu Darvish (10-4) and Matt Harrison (10-3) in 2012.
- Eovaldi has recorded 92 strikeouts against just 19 walks this season, as he is the 1st Texas pitcher ever with 90+ SO and 20-or-fewer BB in his first 14 GS of a campaign.
HEIM TIME: Jonah Heim’s 2-run single in the 7th inn. last night marked his 50th and 51st RBI of the season…his 51 RBI are already a career high (prev. 48 RBI in 2022), and lead all MLB catchers (ATL’s Sean Murphy is 2nd w/ 42 RBI)…he is just the 2nd catcher in franchise histroy to plate 50+ RBI before the All-Star break, joining Iván Rodríguez in 2000 (80).
THE ‘PEN IS MIGHTIER: Texas relievers have allowed just one R-ER over the team’s last 4 G (16.0 IP), lowering their season ERA from 4.58 to 4.31…over its last 19 G (beg. 5/29), the Rangers bullpen is 5-2, 3.33 ERA (27 ER/73.0 IP), ranking among A.L. relief cores over that span in WHIP (1st, 1.01), opp. OPS (2nd, .571), opp. BA (3rd, .201), and wins (T3rd).
ALL IN THE RISP: The Rangers lead MLB in both BA (.316) and OPS (.894) with runners in scoring position…though club is just 21-for-104 (.202) with RISP in its last 12 G (beg. 6/7), its OPS with RISP this season would still be the 3rd-highest full-season (excl. 2020) mark by any MLB club since stats w/ RISP were 1st tracked in 1974: 1999 Cleveland (.911), 1996 Colorado (.895), 2023 Texas (.894).
- TEX also has A.L.-best .365 BA (23-63) with bases loaded in 2023, 2nd-best in MLB behind only PHI (higher .365)… team’s 5 grand slams are tied for most in A.L. (also HOU) and ranks 2nd in MLB to LAD (8)…TEX had just 2 slams in 2022.
SHORTS: Will Smith’s 13 saves are T6th-most in A.L…Josh Jung (born in San Antonio) is just the 5th native Texan ever to hit 20+ career HR as a Ranger: David Murphy (85), Mike Hargrove (47), Chris Davis (42), Laynce Nix (28)…the Rangers MLB-leading 439 runs scored in 2023 are the most by any club over its first 72 G of a season since 2007 DET (444).
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #17 Nathan Eovaldi, RHP
(9-3, 2.59)
TONIGHT: The 33-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his 15th start/appearance of the season tonight at Chicago-AL…entered the day ranked among qualified A.L. hurlers in HR/9 (2nd, 0.58), wins (2nd, 9), innings (2nd, 93.2), WHIP (3rd, 0.98), ERA (4th, 2.59) and opp. OPS (6th, .614)…last 11 starts (beg. 4/18): 8-1, 1.85 ERA (16 ER/78.0 IP); leads all MLB qualifiers in innings, ERA and wins (tied) in that span…had his 8-game win streak snapped last Thurs. vs. LAA, despite notching his team-leading 9th quality start of the campaign (7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R-ER, 2 BB, 9 SO, 105 pitches/67 strikes)…8 wins marked the longest win streak by a TEX starter since Martín Pérez notched a 9-game win streak from 4/23-8/3/22…Eovaldi signed a 2-year free agent contract with the Rangers on 12/27/22…in 2022, his final season with Boston, went 6-3 with a 3.87 ERA (47 ER/109.1 IP) over 20 G/GS…was slowed by a pair of IL stints: 6/9-7/14 (low back inflammation) and 8/19-9/28 (right shoulder inflammation)…was an All-Star with the Red Sox in 2021 and finished 4th in A.L. Cy Young Award voting… his Red Sox stint also included a historic postseason stretch during the team’s 2018 World Series run…has pitched for 6 teams in his career: LAD (2011-12), MIA (2012-14), NYY (2015-16), TB (2018), BOS (2018-22) and TEX (2023)…joins Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan as the only graduates of Alvin (TX) High School to reach the Major Leagues… TEX is 9-5 in Eovaldi’s 14 starts in ’23, winning 4 of 5 and 7 of last 9.
AS OF LATE: Has gone 9-3, 2.59 in 14 starts this season…is just the 11th TEX pitcher (13th instance) with 9+ wins over his first 14 starts of the season, 1st since Yu Darvish in 2012 (9-4)…will be attempting to become just the 2nd TEX pitcher since 2013 with 10+ wins prior to the All-Star break (also Lance Lynn, 11-4 in 2019).
- Has 92 strikeouts and just 19 walks in 2023 (4.84 SO/BB figure ranks 8th among A.L. qualifiers), becoming the 1st pitcher in franchise history w/ 92+ K’s and 19-or-fewer BB in his first 14 starts with the club…the last pitcher across MLB to turn the trick was current rotation-mate Andrew Heaney, who fanned 97 compared to just 18 walks over his first 14 starts for Los Angeles-NL in 2022.
- Remains the only MLB pitcher with multiple complete games in 2023, and his 2 CG’s this season are already the most by a Ranger since Mike Minor in 2019 (also 2).
- Eovaldi over his last 9 starts (beg. 4/29): 7-1, 1.50 ERA (11 ER/66.0 IP), 61 SO/14 BB, .173 opp. BA (39-226)…in 7 starts from 4/29-6/4, was 6-0, 0.68 (4 ER/52.2 IP), the first 7-start span in Rangers history in which a pitcher has allowed 4-or-fewer runs with 50.0+ IP, and the first in MLB since LAD’s Hyun Jin Ryu from 5/7-6/10/19 (3 R-ER, 50.2 IP)…the last A.L. hurler to post such a stretch of 7 starts was KC’s Zack Greinke from 4/8-5/9/09 (4 R-3 ER, 53.0 IP).
LAST START: Was saddled with his 3rd loss of the season 6/15 vs. LAA at Globe Life Field depsite turning in his team-leading 9th quality start of the season (7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R-ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, 9 SO)…pitching opposite Shohei Ohtani, Eovaldi was touched up for single tallies in the 2nd (Wallach solo HR), 4th (Moniak RBI single) and 7th (Moniak solo HR) and exited after 7.0 complete with TEX down, 3-2…the Rangers ‘pen permitted 2 more runs in the 8th and a late Rangers comeback attempt fell short as the Angels prevailed, 5-3…Eovaldi’s 2 HR allowed tied a season-high (also: 5/17 vs. ATL) and marked the first time he’s allowed a longball in consecutive outings in 2023 (last: 8/6- 12/22, also 2 G)…marked his first loss when tossing 7+ IP with 3-or-fewer ER allowed since 9/27/14 at WSH while pitching for MIA (7.0 IP, 2 ER).
VS. CHICAGO-AL: Has gone 2-2, 5.57 ERA (13 ER/21.0 IP) in 5 career G/4 GS against the White Sox…this includes a 1-1, 5.59 ERA (6 ER/9.2 IP) in 3 career G/2 GS at Guaranteed Rate Field…has not appeared at this venue since 8/31/18 when he started for BOS (2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R-ER, 0 BB, 0 SO).
ON THE ROAD: Is 6-1 with a 1.98 ERA (12 ER/54.2 IP) over 8 road starts in 2023 thus far, including a CG on 5/23 at PIT (9.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 104 pitches/71 strikes)…is undefeated (6-0) over his last 7 road starts, pitching to a 1.84 ERA (10 ER/49.0 IP) with 12 BB and 44 SO…is currently tied for the 2nd-longest road win streak of his career, behind only a 7-0 stretch for NYY from 6/26-8/30/15…his 1.98 road ERA this season is the lowest the A.L. and is tied with ARI’s Merrill Kelly for the lowest mark in MLB…has fared better on the road this season than at home, where he has pitched to a 3-2 record and 3.46 ERA.
STREAKING: Posted career-best 29.2-inning scoreless streak from 4/24-5/17, the longest scoreless streak in MLB this season and T5th-longest in Rangers history: 39.0-Kenny Rogers, 5/6-6/1/95; 36.0-Charlie Hough, 8/23-9/14/83; 33.1-Yovani Gallardo, 6/10-7/7/15; 31.0-Rogers, 4/27-5/20/05; 29.2-Eovaldi, 4/24-5/17/23/Jeff Zimmerman, 5/25-8/2/99…marked the longest scoreless streak in MLB since ARI’s Zac Gallen had 44.1 SHO IP from 8/8-9/11/22.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER
- Recorded 8.0+ SHO IP in 3 straight starts from 4/29-5/6, becoming just the 3rd pitcher in TEX history with 3 consecutive outings of at least 8.0 scoreless innings: Martín Pérez (3, 4/13-23/14) and Charlie Hough (3, 8/28-9/7/83)…Eovaldi also struck out 25 batters while issuing just 3 walks over that stretch, just the 6th pitcher in the modern era (since 1900) to have a 3-start span with 25.0+ SHO IP, 25+ SO, and 3-or-fewer walks (credit: STATS)…he was the first MLB pitcher to pull the trick since LAD’s Clayton Kershaw from 7/8-23/15 (26.0 SHO IP, 38 SO, 0 BB), and joined WSH’s Walter Johnson (27.0 SHO IP, 25 SO, 3 BB from 4/19-30/1913) as the only A.L. pitchers to ever do it.
2023: Opponents have batted .217/.264/.350/.614 (73-337) with 28 extra-base hits (6 HR, 5 3B, 17 2B), incl. a .208 BA for LHB and .225 BA for RHP…has thrown an avg. of 97.5 pitches per outing, and has accounted for 6 of 9 G w/ 100+ pitches by TEX starters in ‘23 (6-Eovaldi, 2-Gray, 1-Pérez).
CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
No team release available.
