Texas Rangers Morning Rundown: Nathan Eovaldi finally yields to Diamondbacks

The Rangers’ ace, who tossed six scoreless innings in the World Series, allowed four runs in five innings in their first game back at Chase Field.

Chase Field is the ballpark Texas Rangers players and fans will always fondly remember. The Rangers clinched their first World Series there 10 months ago, and on Tuesday they returned for the first time since hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy.

The game against the Arizona Diamondbacks even featured the same two starting pitchers as the final game of the 2023 Fall Classic, with aces Nathan Eovaldi and Zac Gallen facing off.

Gallen deserved better in Game 5. He opened it with six no-hit innings but left it down 1-0 and ended up as the tough-luck loser. Eovaldi never yielded to the Diamondbacks in six scoreless innings despite facing trouble in five of the frames.

It was a gritty, championship effort that will live forever in Rangers lore.

Tuesday, as has been the case all season, showed that the 2023 ended in 2023. These teams are on different paths, so are Eovaldi and Gallen, and it showed in Arizona’s 6-0 victory.

Eovaldi allowed four runs in five innings, with each tally scoring on three Arizona home runs, and Gallen endured a heavy five-inning pitch count to earn a win that allowed the Diamondbacks to remain in position for the second wild-card spot in that National League.

“I didn’t make enough adjustments,” said Eovaldi, who dropped to 4-1 lifetime (including the postseason) against the Diamondbacks. “I feel like I didn’t give our offense a chance.”

The Rangers lost for only the fourth time in their past 14 games and fell to 29-41 on the road. While .500 and even second place in the American League West remain in reach at 70-75, the Rangers will almost certainly be watching the postseason next month rather than participating.

As Gallen’s night indicated, the Rangers couldn’t get anything going offensively. They had only three hits, two by Wyatt Langford, and struck out 13 times.

Who’s next after Rocker?

Right-hander Kumar Rocker remains scheduled for his MLB debut Thursday at Seattle. He made the short trip from Las Vegas, where Triple A Round Rock was playing Sunday, to Phoenix.

He was the only Triple A player to do so, but he isn’t the only player who could use a look.

Topping the list is first baseman Blaine Crim, who continues to produce at one of the best clips of his career. Multiple people with the Rangers want to evaluate Crim against major-league pitching, yet he was in the Round Rock lineup Tuesday night. And he was producing.

Crim was a 19th-round draft choice in 2020 and is 27 years old, both of which might be working against him. Not being on the 40-man roster hurts, too, especially with Rocker and Jacob deGrom needing a spot later this week.

Outfielder Dustin Harris, catcher Sam Huff and right-handers Marc Church and Daniel Robert are on the 40-man roster. So is Dane Dunning, who on Tuesday made his second Triple A start since being demoted Sept. 1.

From the farm

Right-hander Izack Tiger, the hard-throwing 2023 seventh-round pick, will undergo the UCL brace procedure in his elbow and could miss all of next season, Rangers vice president Ross Fenstermaker said.

Tiger was injured in spring training but made his 2024 debut May 31. He last pitched Aug. 23 at High A Hickory.

Sebastian Walcott, the Rangers’ top prospect on the position-player side, collected a double in his second Double A at-bat in his debut with Frisco. The 18-year-old shortstop ended up 1 for 4.

Frisco is playing in its final regular-season series but has qualified for the Texas League playoffs by winning the division in the first half. The RoughRiders are assured of hosting one game, Sept. 19. Tickets are available here.

Doggy video!

What a sweet guy. Enjoy.

Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com