Rangers walk it off in 10 innings to bail out Eovaldi's rare rocky start

ARLINGTON -- Time after time this season, Nathan Eovaldi has picked up the Rangers’ offense.

Entering Monday’s matchup with the Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field, Eovaldi had six straight winning decisions and had not shouldered a loss since May 22. It was easy to see why. Since he came off the injured list on June 27, Eovaldi had allowed five earned runs in 41 2/3 innings across seven starts. That was a 1.08 ERA in that time frame.

But on Monday, Eovaldi fought through his first rough start of the season, allowing five runs in five innings, including homers from Tyler Locklear, Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo.

And this time, the offense picked him up, roaring back from a five-run deficit to an eventual 7-6 walk-off win to take the first game of the series at Globe Life Field.

It was the Rangers’ largest come-from-behind victory this season, and only their fourth win when trailing after eight innings.

“For me, I feel like I let the guys down tonight by not going deep into the game, giving up those early runs,” Eovaldi said. “They picked me up. Anytime you can come from behind to get the win is huge. I think that's the identity of a good team, right? There's going to be different ways you have to be able to do it.”

Eovaldi still has a 1.71 ERA through 20 starts this season, the best mark in MLB (min. 20 GS) and the lowest ERA by 20 starts in franchise history (since 1961), just ahead of Rick Honeycutt’s 2.19 ERA in 1983.

“Evo obviously didn't have what he wanted, but believe it or not, he kept us in the game,” said Rowdy Tellez, who delivered a game-tying solo homer in the ninth inning. “The bullpen was great. And we put together a win. Any win in the column is going to be good. It's going to allow us to move forward and keep it going.”

The Rangers chipped away throughout the game, scoring one run in the third inning and four in the sixth thanks to a huge three-run homer from Wyatt Langford, who had not homered in exactly a month. Tellez -- who joined the big league club just after the All-Star break -- hit his sixth career game-tying homer in the ninth inning or later and his first since Sept. 3, 2022, when he was with Milwaukee.

And the final dagger came in extra innings, when Jake Burger delivered a pinch-hit walk-off knock to secure a victory.

It was Burger’s sixth career walk-off plate appearance, and first since July 7, 2024, when he was with the Marlins. It’s the first walk-off by a Texas pinch-hitter since Josh Hamilton in 2015 and the first pinch-hit walk-off by a Ranger in extra innings since Alan Bannister in 1984.

“I think tonight's one of those really good team wins,” Burger said. “Obviously, Evo didn't throw how he wanted to, but he's been picking us up all year. For us as an offense, being able to pick him up is huge. Everything from Wyatt's three-run home run and Rowdy in the ninth was huge. Fortunately I got the opportunity to get in there in the 10th and finish the job.”

Eovaldi has been the rock for the Rangers all season long. Everybody in the clubhouse knows it and has said it, especially through the ups and downs of the Texas offense.

Despite Eovaldi not looking quite like himself, a win like Monday’s -- a come-from-behind offensive eruption with shutdown bullpen work -- is exactly what the Rangers needed, especially coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies this past weekend.

“That's all that matters at the end of the day,” Eovaldi said. “I'll work on the side and try to figure out everything that I need to work on. But at the end of the day, regardless of how well I do out there or anything, it's about the team winning games. Especially with where we are at this point of the season and everything -- again -- that's the only thing that matters.”