Nathan Eovaldi continued his mastery of Cincinnati Reds and threw his third career shutdown, while Wyatt Langford gave the only crime with a solo home when the visiting Texas Rangers prevailed 1-0 Tuesday evening.
Eovaldi (1-0) has registered a quality start in all five career excursions against Cincinnati, including Tuesday night’s effort, where he only needed 99 seats to finish the four hit masterpiece. He knocked out eight and went no one.
The reds threatened in the seventh against Eovaldi when Matt McLain opened with a single on the left. He advanced on groundouts to others by Elly de la Cruz and Gavin Lux. But the threat ended when Jeimer Candelario flew out to the left.
Pinch-hitter Jacob Hurtubise singled to the right to open the ninth but tj Friedl’s bundle forced Hurtubise in second place. McLain lined out to the middle and De la Cruz was founded first to finish the game.
Lifetime against the Red, Eovaldi has now allowed only six runs (five earned) over 36 rounds and lowers its era to 1.25, with 20 hits and 35 strikes.
After the two teams were combined for 17 runs, took 19 hits and four home shopping on Monday, Texas and Cincinnati at a pitching clinic Tuesday evening at the Hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.
Eovaldi retired the first 12 beats and needed only 46 seats to get through four rounds. Lux singled clean in front of right -wing field Adolis Garcia to open fifth and Cincinnati had its first baserunner and here at night. It was the second time in three matches that Cincinnati failed to put a runner through four rounds.
Langford, who finished 2-for-4, gave Rangers his first lead in the three-game series, and lifted Carson Spiers’ sinking fast ball several lines deep into the seats on the left for his second homer of the season.
Apart from the home race, Spiers (0-1) was able to match Eovaldi when they put zeros on the scoreboard and kept Rangers speechless in the coming five rounds. The Cincinnati starter gave only one run on three hits, went two, knocked out five and hit a batter.
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