Nathan Eovaldi helped the Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Wednesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The win pulled Texas back into a tie for first in the American League West and gave the team its fourth straight victory. MacKenzie Gore ran into early trouble, dealt with muscle spasms and reduced velocity, and left before completing the fifth inning. Eovaldi came out of the bullpen and pitched four innings of one-hit, shutout relief. He retired the last 11 batters he faced while the offense scored four runs. Josh Jung and Eovaldi both returned from the injured list just in time to help spark the run. Brandon Nimmo doubled in the seventh inning to give Texas the lead. Ezequiel Duran added a two-out, two-run single on a 0-2 slider. Corey Seager added another run in the eighth with a single. The Rangers are 1 ½ games back of Cleveland for the No. 2 seed and own the tiebreaker with the Guardians. Texas will start Tyler Alexander on Thursday and will likely use Cody Bradford in bulk. The Rangers next face a stretch that includes a possible playoff clinch chance at Minnesota.
