The Texas Rangers hit the road on Monday night and travel to Cincinnati to take on the Reds to kick off the start of a three-game series. The Rangers, with a revamped starting rotation, are on top of the AL West Division. The Reds, meanwhile, are in the midst of a rebuilding season and are in last place in the NL Central Division. The pitching matchup on Monday night will be righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) of the Rangers taking on the Reds' lefty Nick Lodolo (2-1, 4.98). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:10 PM EST.
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The Texas Rangers spent the offseason improving their pitching but it has been the team's offense that has stepped to the forefront. The Rangers have the second-best run differential in the American League and are second in baseball in runs scored. On Saturday, right fielder Adolis Garcia blasted three home runs and two doubles while driving in eight runs in a dominant performance as part of an 18-3 Rangers win. In the series finale on Sunday, Texas took the series from Oakland with a 5-2 win behind six innings and 11 strikeouts from Jacob deGrom.
Still not over @AdolisJose's game last night. #StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/5gwoqY89rq
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) April 23, 2023
The Rangers will turn to one of their prized free-agent signees, Nathan Eovaldi, to take his turn on the mound Sunday. Eovaldi is 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA thus far but has been hit hard over the course of his first four starts. He has a 49.2 hard hit% this season, continuing a disturbing trend from last season when Eovaldi finished with a 45.2 hart hit %, up significantly from his career average of 38.6. Eovaldi's K% has improved, however, up to 25.8 compared with his career average of 22%. One thing that has helped Eovaldi has been his improvement in forcing ground balls to fly balls. Last year, Eovaldi allowed 23.5% fly balls while that number is down to 16% in 2023. That will help him in the hitter-friendly venue of Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
Key Injuries: SS Corey Seager is out and C/OF Mitch Garver is out