ARLINGTON -- Nathan Eovaldi is known for his postseason prowess. That’s where he gets the nickname “Big Game Nate.”
But big games can happen across a full 162. That’s what Tuesday night was for the Rangers -- a big-time matchup against one of the teams ahead of them in the American League Wild Card standings with a chance to take the series. It doesn’t get bigger than that in August.
And Eovaldi -- of course -- delivered, on the heels of being named the AL Pitcher of the Month for July.
The Rangers' ace delivered eight scoreless innings against the Yankees, facing just one over the minimum, while striking out six. The lone hit was an Anthony Volpe double with an exit velocity of 62.2 mph just over the head of shortstop Corey Seager.
He kept the two teams in a scoreless stalemate going into the bottom of the eighth, setting up Rowdy Tellez for a big go-ahead hit with a bases-loaded single, propelling the Rangers to a 2-0 victory.
With the win, the Rangers climbed to within a half-game of New York in the Wild Card picture.
"I don't know what else to say about him,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “I mean, what a job. Tremendous effort with his stuff and focus. Eight innings. We needed it. We couldn't score a run, and for him to do what he did today, just says so much about him. He's fun to watch. You're seeing pitching at his finest when he's out there. We needed it. We had our guy out there. What a job he did.”
Eovaldi is just the fourth pitcher in Senators/Rangers franchise history to craft a start of eight scoreless innings and one-or-zero baserunners allowed. One of those was Kenny Rogers’ perfect game in 1994. Another was when Yu Darvish fell one out short of a perfect game in 2013.
And Eovaldi was on top of the Yankees from the start, though he insisted he got away with a couple of pitches early on. He ended the first inning with a swinging strikeout of reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge and didn’t allow a baserunner until Volpe's double with two outs in the third inning.
But he was at his best from the fourth through the eighth innings, when he just mowed down the lineup batter after batter.
"He's just an artist out there,” Bochy said. “His pitchability, his command, his focus, the way he reads swings, he can adjust on the fly, all those things. You’ve got four pitches with command of all of them that he can throw anytime. That's why he's having so much success.”
That all encapsulates why Eovaldi has been the ace of a staff with Jacob deGrom sitting next to him.
With his eight innings on Tuesday, he lowered his ERA to 1.38, though at 111 innings pitched he’s not yet qualified for the ERA title due to an injured list stint in May. It's the lowest ERA through a pitcher’s first 19 starts in franchise history -- ahead of Rick Honeycutt (2.20 in 1983), Jon Matlack (2.27 in 1978) and deGrom (2.32, this season) -- and lowest for any AL pitcher in such a span since Oakland’s Vida Blue in 1971 (1.37).
Bochy, when asked about this year’s AL Cy Young Award case, said it’s probably too early to be thinking about that.
But the body of work speaks for itself. His teammates agree that this season has been special.
"He's so fun to watch,” said reliever Phil Maton, who recorded his first save as a Ranger in the win. “He's just one of those guys where, all year, regardless of what team you're on, you just see him having big outing after big outing. He's just an absolute dog on the mound, and it's just really fun to watch.”