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ARLINGTON, Tex. (May 28) \u2014 The Texas Rangers<\/a> used a three-run homer by Corey Seager<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a>, 4\u20132, on Tuesday evening. It runs their winning streak to two, and it puts them within three games of .500 at 26\u201329. Tuesday also marked the first time they have won back-to-back contests since May 6\u20137 against the Oakland Athletics<\/a>. Their pitching staff chipped in with the win in this short two-game rematch of the 2023 World Series. The Rangers will have a chance to sweep the abbreviated series on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 1:35 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Ryne Nelson<\/a><\/strong> (3\u20133, 6.03 ERA) will take the hill for the Diamondbacks, and fellow righty Dane Dunning<\/a><\/strong> (3\u20133, 4.43 ERA) will toe the slab for the Rangers.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks took a 1\u20130 lead in the top of the second off Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi<\/a><\/strong>. Pavin Smith<\/a><\/strong> scored Christian Walker<\/a><\/strong> with a double to left. Smith reached on a double to center to lead off the frame. On deck was Jake McCarthy<\/a><\/strong>, who lined a single to center. On the first pitch to Eugenio Suarez<\/a><\/strong>, McCarthy stole second. Meanwhile, Suarez drove in Smith with a sacrifice fly to foul territory behind the first base bag. The Rangers cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third with Brandon Pfaadt<\/a><\/strong> on the mound for the Diamondbacks. After a leadoff groundout to the mound by Jonah Heim<\/a><\/strong>, Travis Jankowski<\/a><\/strong> reached on a double to left. Pfaadt struck out Marcus Semien<\/a> <\/strong>before he\u00a0intentionally walked Seager, who is now tied with Bryce Harper<\/a><\/strong> of the Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> and Josh Naylor<\/a> <\/strong>of the Cleveland Guardians<\/a> for the major league lead in intentional walks, with six. Moments later, Jankowski scored the 200th run of his career on a single to center by Josh Smith<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The Rangers took a two-run lead in the fifth. Heim led off the frame with a single to left. Jankowski followed suit with his own single to left. Semien reached first on a force out at second that sent Jankowski back to the bench. That brought up Seager for his third plate appearance\u00a0 of the evening. Seager sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in right for his twelfth dinger of the year, making it 4\u20132 Rangers and completing the scoring on the evening.<\/p>\n The Rangers are slowly digging themselves out of the slump that they have been in since early May. As previously mentioned, teams are starting to have trouble pitching to Seager once again. When he hit his homer on Tuesday, there was an audible sigh of relief amongst the sellout crowd of 37,977.<\/p>\n Lefty Andrew Heaney<\/a><\/strong> tossed 2 1\/3 scoreless innings to relieve Eovaldi, who is fresh off the Injured List after he suffered a right groin strain that took him out of a start against the Washington Nationals<\/a> on May 2.<\/p>\n The only roadblock the Rangers encountered on Tuesday came in the two-run second inning that the Diamondbacks had. Considering the stretch the Rangers have been on, there was a sense of uneasiness in the building. Fortunately for the mental state of the fans, the Rangers ultimately set things right.<\/p>\n Nathan Eovaldi<\/a> was activated from the 15-day Injured List prior to Tuesday’s game. He made his eighth start of the season, taking a no-decision. His final line was 3 IP, 5 H, 2 R-ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 37 pitches\/27 strikes). Tuesday marked his first game since a start on May 2, as he did not complete a rehab assignment after being placed on the IL on May 3. Eovaldi retired the first three batters faced before surrendering three straight hits to open the top of the second. He topped out at a season-high 98.2 mph on his four-seam fastball (Statcast), his highest max pitch velocity reached since July 1, 2023 against the Houston Astros<\/a> (99.1 mph).<\/p>\n After chipping in relief, Heaney got the win, pitching 2\/3 scoreless frames in which he gave up two hits, one walk, and struck out one. His outing brings his record to 1\u20136 with an ERA of 4.47.<\/p>\n After pitching a scoreless ninth in which he surrendered one hit, walked one, and struck out two, closer Kirby Yates<\/a><\/strong> earned his eighth save of the season.\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n Brandon Pfaadt took the loss on Tuesday in the same ballpark that he made his major league debut in on May 3, 2023. He gave up four runs, all earned, over seven innings. His record for 2024 now sits at 2\u20134 with an ERA of 4.16. Pfaadt tossed two scoreless frames Tuesday before the Rangers got on the board via the Smith RBI single in the third. The bulk of the damage done against Pfaadt came on Seager\u2019s three-run shot in the fifth. Pfaadt has pitched six-plus innings in each of his last six starts (beg. 4\/28), the longest streak of his career and longest by a Diamondback since Zac Gallen<\/a><\/strong> from 7\/20-8\/22\/23.<\/p>\nSeager Makes it a Dozen<\/h4>\n
What Went Right for the Rangers<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Rangers<\/h4>\n
Rehab Start for Eovaldi…in Arlington<\/h4>\n
Back Where it All Started<\/h4>\n
Postgame Comments<\/h4>\n