When the bright lights go on, Nathan Eovaldi is at his best on the mound. The Texas Rangers ace twirled six quality innings and left with a two-run lead against the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the ALCS Monday night. The Rangers hung on for a 5-4 win to take a 2-0 series lead back home, giving Eovaldi his seventh postseason victory.
There was a huge moment in the fifth inning with the Rangers leading by three. Eovaldi allowed the first three batters of the inning to reach base, putting the tying run at first and the go-ahead run at the plate. The Astros crowd got loud, trying to break Eovaldi's concentration, but he was undeterred.
The postseason wizard struck out the next two batters and induced an inning-ending ground ball to escape the bases load, no out jam unscathed.
“A lot of the guys in the dugout were saying how loud it was in the stadium,” Eovaldi said, via Cody Stavenhagen. “And to me, you get that tunnel vision, that extra focus, and you block everything out.”
Trusting the numbers
Perhaps no manager embodies both eras of the modern game better than Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy. The 68-year-old future Hall of Fame manager gives his starters a longer leash than most managers would in the MLB playoffs but he also played the matchups. That combined strategy has paid off for him so far.
He let Eovaldi work himself out of that massive jam and handed him the sixth inning against the heart of the Astros' lineup.
“I can’t say enough about Boch,” Eovaldi said. “He’s got that old-school mentality, and at the same time he’s aware what we’re doing now. For him to step away from the game and come back and the way he’s been able to manage it, it’s been great for us.”
“At this moment right now in the postseason, for me to be able to have that opportunity to get out of the fifth inning was enough for me,” Eovaldi said. “And I’m grateful for that opportunity.”
Bochy has pushed all the right buttons this postseason for the Rangers. There's no coincidence they're 7-0 this October and two wins away from an AL pennant. There's also no coincidence Bochy won three World Series titles as a manager.
Eovaldi again proved to be one of the best bright-light pitchers in the sport. His career postseason ERA dropped to 2.87 in 14 appearances, nine of them starts. He's 3-0 in the playoffs this year with the Rangers, throwing three quality starts with 24 total strikeouts.
Nathan Eovaldi and the Rangers pitching staff are huge reasons why Texas has cruised through the postseason to this point. Having a talented roster is one thing, but having postseason experience is another. Both Eovaldi and his manager Bruce Bochy have plenty of that and are using it to their advantage by leading the Rangers toward a World Series appearance.
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