The Texas Rangers' 2023 resurgence has mirrored that of pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, who continued his outstanding start to the season with a dominant complete game showing in a 6-1 road win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was his second time going the distance this year.
With two Tommy John surgeries on his lengthy medical history, no one knew quite what to expect from the 33-year-old when he signed a two-year, $34 million contract with Texas in free agency. Eovaldi has been an absolute steal so far and a major catalyst for this revived starting pitching staff. He weighed in on what might be the best run of his 12-year career.
When asked if he had ever been in this form before, Eovaldi responded, “no, I think the closest time would have been in 2018 when I first got traded to the Red Sox.”
Nathan Eovaldi on his pitching performance tonight!
@Rangers | #StraightUpTX | 📺: BSSW pic.twitter.com/dHbYicFgau— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) May 24, 2023
Eovaldi was a stellar addition to Boston and was one of its most valuable players in the 2018 World Series run. Somehow, he has raised the bar in 2023. He is 6-2 with a 2.60 ERA and 66 strikeouts through 10 starts. His contributions have been especially vital with Jacob deGrom on the IL due to elbow inflammation.
The right-hander has remained humble, though, and credits catcher Jonah Heim and the Rangers' offense for his success.
“I feel like Jonah's been doing a really good job of calling the game back there behind the plate, a lot of things have to go into a complete game,” he said. “We were able to score runs early and we had the lead.”
Nathan Eovaldi seems to be doing a great job of not getting swept up in his own hype. But Rangers fans will happily oblige.
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