Rangers Edge Reds in Series Opener

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

April 26, 2024

Rangers 2, Reds 1

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Apr 26) — The Texas Rangers narrowly defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 2–1, in their series opener Friday night in front of a crowd of 28,396. Evan Carter and Marcus Semien flexed their muscles with a homer apiece to lead the Rangers to victory. This win came on a night when the Rangers’ City Connect uniforms made their first appearance of the 2024 campaign. The Rangers will try to make it two in a row against the Reds in the middle game on Saturday afternoon with first pitch slated for 3:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. It will be a duel of righties as Hunter Greene (0–2, 4.55 ERA) will start for the Reds, and former Red Michael Lorenzen (2–0, 2.45 ERA) will get the ball for the Rangers.

Carter, Semien Go Deep

The Rangers have found themselves behind in the first inning in every game this week. Friday was no different with Nathan Eovaldi on the bump. Consecutive walks issued to Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer got things started for the Reds. A successful double steal attempt landed Steer on second and De La Cruz at home. This put the Reds on top 1–0. Steer advanced to third on a throwing error by Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, but he was stranded by Eovaldi.

The Rangers tied things up in the bottom of the second off Reds starter Graham Ashcraft. Carter led off the inning with his fifth home run of the season, a solo blast to right-center. The Rangers finally broke the tie in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a solo home run to left by Semien off Reds reliever Lucas Sims.

What Went Right for the Rangers

The Rangers got off to a slow start, but they were able to cobble just enough offense to get the win. The solo blasts by Carter and Semien did the trick. The bullpen did a really nice job, too, tossing three scoreless innings. Jose Leclerc earned the win after coming in to start the eighth in relief of Jacob Latz. Leclerc is now 2–2 with an ERA of 6.55. After striking out two in the ninth, Kirby Yates earned his fourth save of the year.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

The Rangers had their biggest mishap in the first inning with the double steal by De La Cruz and Steer.

Effectively Wild

For the Rangers, Eovaldi did not factor into the decision, despite registering his third quality start of the season. His final line was 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R-ER, 5 BB, 8 K, 97 pitches/58 strikes. His strikeouts tied a season high. Eovaldi also permitted five free passes, becoming the first Rangers hurler to record eight-plus strikeouts and five-plus walks in a start since Yu Darvish on June 17, 2014 against the Oakland Athletics. After receiving one run of support in this one, Eovaldi has received two or fewer runs of support in each of his six starts and has a run support average of 2.50 in 2024. He entered play with the ninth-lowest RSA among AL qualifiers. His career 1.67 ERA against the Reds is his lowest against any opponent (min. three starts).

For the Reds, Ashcraft took a no-decision despite tossing his second quality start of the season. His line was 6 1/3 IP, 7 H, 1 R-ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 89 pitches/62 strikes. Friday marked his longest outing of 2024. The lone run he allowed came on the solo home run by Carter, but he held Rangers batters to 5-for-19 from then on. This outing was the 50th start of his career, all with the Reds. … After giving up the Semien homer in the eighth, Sims was saddled with the loss. His record now sits at 1–1, with an ERA of 7.27.

Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was asked what his impression was of Eovaldi’s evening. “It was a Quality Start,” Bochy said. “He had good stuff, and he worked around the walks. I think he had five of them, but he gave us six solid innings. We needed it, because we had a tough time against (Graham) Ashcraft. He had good stuff, and when you come up short with runners in scoring position, you need the long ball to help, and that’s what we got tonight.”

After Bochy departed, Eovaldi gave his remarks on his start. “I got off to a rough start with all the walks. We were able to get out of the first inning thanks to some damage control, and that helped me breathe a little easier. I felt like I was able to settle in after that. I gave up a few singles along with the walks, so that was a little frustrating for me, but it’s a game of situations and adjustments. You take the good, and you do your best to brush off the bad and the ugly.”