If there ever was a day for "Big Game Nate" to show up, it's Saturday.
The Texas Rangers announced on Friday night that Nathan Eovaldi would start Saturday's game against the Minnesota Twins . He hasn't started a game since he returned from the injured list to pitch as a reliever on Sept. 12. No one is expecting seven innings from him.
But whatever the Rangers can get, they'll take, especially if he pitches like the 2023 World Series champion that he did three years ago.
Texas Rangers relief pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Eovaldi missed more than a month with right posterior elbow inflammation. He didn't go on a rehab assignment because there wasn't enough time for him to build up to a starter's workload. The Rangers opted to use him as a bulk reliever. He's pitched in four games with a 1-1 record and a 5.19 ERA. He also has a blown save.
In his first two appearances he threw more than 40 pitches, including a 46-pitch game on Sept. 16 against Boston in which he threw four innings of one-hit baseball.
In 2023 Eovaldi returned from an injury at the start of September and opted to build up with the Rangers for similar reasons. He made six starts that September as he went 1-2 with a 9.30 ERA. He had two rough outings at the end of the season, including giving up seven earned runs against Seattle on Sept. 29 as he threw 80 pitches.
But he was nails in the postseason and that's the Eovaldi the Rangers need on Saturday. In six starts he went 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA. He struck out 41 and walked 10 in 36.2 innings as the Rangers won their first World Series.
Without a strong start from Eovaldi, the Rangers' playoff hopes may be sunk by Sunday, based on the current state of the race.
The Rangers (79-81) lost to the Twins, 10-2, on Friday. Fortunately, the Houston Astros also lost, falling the Athletics in West Sacramento. That kept the two teams tied for the lead in the AL West.
The Astros can clinch the division on Saturday with a win over the Athletics and a Rangers loss. That would put Houston one game ahead with one game to play and even if the pair return to a tie after Sunday's action the Astros own the tiebreaker.
The only way the Rangers can win the division is if they finish one game ahead of the Astros in the standings. Even if Texas wins its final two games, if Houston wins its final two games, the Astros advance. The AL West title is the only playoff berth left in the AL. The AL West winner will host either the Cleveland Guardians or the Chicago White Sox in the AL wild card round.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rangers/onsi as Rangers Turn to Nathan Eovaldi to Save Fading Postseason Hopes .
