MINNEAPOLIS — The bottom four spots in the Texas Rangers lineup drove in four runs, and Nathan Eovaldi allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings in his first start since Aug. 7 as Texas beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2 on Saturday at Target Field. The win sent the American League West race to the final day of the regular season.
The Rangers moved to 80-81 and spent a few hours a half-game ahead of the Houston Astros. Later Saturday night, Houston beat the Athletics 13-2 in West Sacramento, Calif., to pull even again. The Astros own the tiebreaker after winning the season series, so they clinch the division with a win over the Athletics on Sunday or a Texas loss. Neither club can finish with more than 81 wins, which would be the fewest for any division winner in a full season, below the 82-80 mark of the 2005 San Diego Padres.
Rain pushed Saturday’s first pitch, scheduled for 3:10 p.m. CT, back 2 hours and 1 minute. Texas came in off a 10-2 loss to Minnesota on Friday and without its two most productive hitters. Joc Pederson fractured his left hand earlier in the month, and third baseman Josh Jung went on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a broken right hand after he was hit by a pitch in the first inning Friday. The Rangers recalled catcher Logan O’Hoppe from Triple-A Round Rock before the game.
Before first pitch, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker acknowledged it would sound callous to ask the rest of the roster to move past losing Pederson and Jung within two days.
“It’s OK to be emotional at the time,” Schumaker said. “You can feel some emotion behind losing your one- and three-hole hitters. But the reality is, [there are] two games left. As terrible as this is to say, you have to move on as fast as you can. It’s callous. I get it. But next man up. Guys have to step up when guys get hurt. Who is going to step up for two days?”
After the game, Schumaker named Eovaldi, Brandon Nimmo, and Nicky Lopez among the players who stayed on the field while not at full strength.
“The whole team. That was an incredible fight to the end. Multiple guys banged up. Did not want to come out of that game. They knew what was at stake,” Schumaker said. “All started with Evo, and what he provided was just insane. I mean, that was one of the gutsiest performances I’ve seen in a long time. And then you add Nimmo to that, and then you add Lopez to that, and then a couple others that weren’t feeling great and posted.”
“That’s what it’s all about. So proud to be a manager of this team,” he continued. “I mean, it was just fun to watch and be a part of.”
Minnesota scored first when Luke Keaschall led off the bottom of the first with a double, took third on a groundout, and scored on an RBI groundout by Kody Clemens. Twins starter Bailey Ober struck out the first two batters he faced in the second before Lopez doubled with two outs. Danny Jansen followed with a bloop RBI single, and a throwing error by left fielder Alan Roden let him take second. Evan Carter doubled to right to put Texas ahead 2-1, and Alejandro Osuna and Nimmo added RBI doubles to make it 4-1.
The four doubles were the most for the Rangers in a single inning since May 2, 2009, against the Chicago White Sox. Jansen led off the fourth with a 398-foot home run to left field. In the fifth, cleanup hitter Jake Burger hit a 415-foot solo home run to center off an Ober fastball, his team-leading 28th of the season, to make it 6-1.
Jansen finished 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs, while Carter and Osuna each had 2 hits and an RBI. The bottom four spots in the order, including substitutes Cody Freeman and Justin Foscue, combined to go 7-for-15 with 1 walk and 4 RBIs. All nine Texas starters recorded a hit, the fourth time this season and the second time in September the Rangers have done that. Ober (7-7) went 5 innings and gave up 10 hits, 6 runs, and 1 walk while striking out 5.
Jansen said the Rangers tried to put pressure on the Twins early, with good at-bat after good at-bat in the second inning from hitters who knew what the moment was.
“It’s gonna take all of us,” Jansen said. “We showed that we’re willing to do small ball and all that stuff too. That’s part of our identity. And it’s going to take one through nine. It was pretty cool to have the bottom show up tonight. We just pride ourselves on trying to pass the baton to each other and keep the line moving.”
Schumaker said players may be feeling extra pressure because they want so badly to be the one who steps in for Jung or Pederson on behalf of their teammates.
“That’s what we’re asking for,” Schumaker said. “There’s a lot of guys that want to be the guy, and maybe there’s a little bit of pressure on them because of wanting to be the guy so bad for their teammates. That’s totally fair. But that’s why I keep saying it’s the collective. It’s the nine guys that have to do this thing together. You just can’t focus on just one guy. If we’re focusing on one guy that’s replacing JJ or replacing Joc, it’s not going to work.”
Nathan Eovaldi Holds Twins To One Run In First Start Since Aug. 7
Elbow inflammation put Eovaldi on the injured list for more than a month after his Aug. 7 start. He made four relief appearances after returning and never threw more than 46 pitches in any of them. On Saturday, he allowed 1 run on 4 hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Jansen, who caught him, called Eovaldi huge for the Rangers and said he does so much for the club.
“All of them. He’s a dog,” Jansen said. “It’s him getting the ball, Big Game Nate. A lot of fun to have him, obviously, and he’s huge for us. He does so much for us, and to have him get the ball for us today was incredible.”
The Rangers had relievers warming more than once during the outing. Schumaker said the early lead let him play matchups and hold relievers back for later in the game, as he did with left-hander Robert Garcia.
“You trust the player. You trust the person. You trust the competitor. And you have to line it up as best you can to get through the game as well. I always say you worry about tomorrow tomorrow. You have to win today. Tomorrow’s pretty important too,” Schumaker explained. “And so once we got out to that lead, you could play around a little bit with kind of matching up and hoping that you can save some guys for a little bit later like we did with Garcia, which, by the way, provided a gigantic double play ball to get out of an inning.”
“But what Evo did, I mean, I didn’t know if he was going to go two innings, maybe three,” he continued. “And what he did was, again, so impressive. It was great.”
Garcia (2-1) followed Eovaldi with 1 2/3 scoreless innings and got the win. Jakob Junis, Tyler Alexander, and Jacob Latz also pitched in relief. Minnesota’s only other run came in the eighth, when Keaschall tripled to lead off the inning and scored on an RBI single by Josh Bell.
Between innings, Eovaldi said, there was no need to talk his way into staying in. His pitch count stayed relatively low, he felt himself getting better as the game went on, and his curveball, splitter, and cutter all felt good.
“I mean, I was confident that I’d be able to have a high pitch count. I felt good,” Eovaldi said. “Given where we are right now and these must-need wins, it was more so just trying to get as fast of outs as possible and make it hard for them to take the ball away.”
Jansen, Eovaldi said, had a really nice game at the plate and behind it, and the bottom of the order was really big for Texas.
“For us to be able to score those runs, I think, what, the three or four consecutive doubles, I mean, that’s big for us,” Eovaldi explained. “And to be able to score those runs in the second, especially after I had given up that one in the first, it was big.”
Early on, Eovaldi said, the Twins were making hard contact against him. The Rangers answered with double plays and diving stops behind him, including one from Burger at first base.
“We were able to get some big double play balls. Zeke had the one, and then Burger with the diving play, and then Nimmo out there in the outfield too,” Eovaldi said. “We’ve got to have it. We’ve got to come up with those big plays.”
Nicky Lopez Exits With Left Ankle And Heel Injury Before Sunday Finale
Lopez attempted a bunt single in the third inning and appeared to step awkwardly on first base. He, Schumaker, and head trainer Matt Lucero met briefly between innings, and Lopez initially stayed in the game. Freeman replaced him in the bottom of the fourth and took over at third base, with Ezequiel Durán moving from third to second.
Lopez said his knee hyperextended when he stepped on the bag, which caused his ankle to hit it the way it did.
“When you hit first base, you’re a little more worried than anything,” Lopez said. “That’s where I was. I rarely come out of baseball games. I really don’t. I take pride in it. I have a clean track record, knock on wood. This one hurt a little bit. But better to get off your feet. Hopefully, I’ll be back in there tomorrow.”
Schumaker said the account he received was the same one Lopez gave.
“He says he feels better as the night has progressed, but that’s kind of all I know,” Schumaker said. “I just know that he had a little bit of trouble with the first step, so just needed to shore up the defense just to make sure that we completed that game, and hopefully he’ll be back in there tomorrow.”
Since signing with Texas on May 27, Lopez has hit .274/.327/.317 in 95 games, playing mostly second base (67 games) and shortstop (28 games).
The Rangers had not announced a starter for Sunday’s finale, with first pitch scheduled for 2:10 p.m. CT at Target Field. Minnesota will start right-hander Dean Kremer (4-5, 4.97 ERA). A Texas win would also get the Rangers to 81-81 and a .500 finish.
Jansen described the season as a wild, grindy one and said he could speak for everybody in the clubhouse about Sunday.
“We’re all excited. We’re going to go out there and give it everything we got and leave it all on the field,” Jansen said. “It’s been a grindy year for sure, and we’re excited for tomorrow.”
Eovaldi said the Rangers wanted to ease the dugout Saturday, and the plan does not change Sunday with the season on the line.
“It’s a must-win game tomorrow,” Eovaldi said. “Go out there and play well tomorrow and see what happens tonight, see what happens tomorrow, and see what happens from there.”
Schumaker said the Rangers have never quit on him or on each other this season, including over the last week.
“Those guys don’t go down without a fight,” Schumaker said. “You can tell that they play for each other. They’re gonna give every single ounce they have and empty the tank, especially this last week. It might be a .500 record right now. Do I think they are a better-than-.500 team? Of course I do. They all do as well.”
