ARLINGTON, Texas (Apr 29) \u2014 The Texas Rangers<\/a> ended their nine-game homestand Wednesday with a 3\u20130 victory over the New York Yankees.<\/a> With this win, they avoided a three-game sweep. Josh Jung<\/a> helped his team’s cause with a two-run single in the fifth inning, raising his batting average to .317 for the season. Now the Rangers head out on a six-game road trip beginning with three against the Detroit Tigers<\/a>. That set will begin Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm Eastern at Comerica Park. Left-hander MacKenzie Gore<\/a><\/strong> (2\u20132, 4.35 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Rangers. The Tigers, meanwhile, have yet to name their starter as of press time.<\/p>\n As for the Yankees, they’ll fly back to the Bronx for three games against the Baltimore Orioles<\/a>. That matchup will also begin Friday with first pitch slated for 7:05 pm Eastern at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles’ starting pitcher is still to be determined as of press time, but righty Will Warren<\/strong><\/a> (3\u20130, 2.59 ERA) will get the ball for the Yankees.<\/p>\n This game remained in a scoreless knot until the bottom of the fifth. The Rangers broke the tension against Yankees starter Elmer Rodriguez<\/a><\/strong>. Rodriguez started the frame by hitting Alejandro Osuna<\/a><\/strong> with a pitch and issuing a free pass to Ezequiel Duran<\/a><\/strong>. Brandon Nimmo<\/a><\/strong> loaded the bases with an infield single that was bobbled by Yankees first baseman Ben Rice<\/a><\/strong>. On deck was Jung, who has been the Rangers’ best hitter in recent weeks. He promptly plated Osuna and Duran with a sharp single to left, padding his RBI total to 17 for the year.<\/p>\n The Rangers tallied their last run in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Jake Bird<\/a><\/strong>. Duran led off with a double to left. Up next was Sam Haggerty<\/strong><\/a>, who plated Duran with a single up the middle.<\/p>\n The Yankees are a tough team to hold scoreless for three innings, let alone an entire game. Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi<\/a><\/strong> put the first seven zeroes up on the board and reliever Jacob Latz<\/a><\/strong> took care of the last two zeroes for the two-inning save.<\/p>\n At the plate, the Rangers went 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. That’s also a positive sign, as they have struggled to score at Globe Life Field so far this season.<\/p>\n As previously mentioned, Nimmo went down with an injury. He left the game in the fifth inning with right hamstring tightness. This brought in Haggerty to play left field as Osuna moved to right. Nimmo, who started the game in right, exited with right hamstring tightness. Nimmo has batted .290 this season with four home runs, 12 RBI, and one stolen base. He has been one of the most consistent hitters in the lineup. Nimmo has dealt with this same injury before in his career with good results. Both he and the Rangers are hopeful that he will avoid a stay on the IL.<\/p>\n Eovaldi had his best start of the season Wednesday afternoon. He tossed seven scoreless innings and earned the win, bringing his record to 3\u20134. This was his major league-leading seventh decision in seven starts.<\/p>\n Wednesday was his second scoreless start of the campaign, as he reached his season-high seven strikeouts for the fourth time. He turned in a scoreless first inning for the third time this season. Additionally, he struck out Aaron Judge<\/a><\/strong> twice for his 11th and 12th career strikeouts of the slugger.<\/p>\n Yankees starter Elmer Rodriguez was recalled from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre prior to Wednesday\u2019s game. He made his major league debut, at 22 years, 254 days old. Rodriguez became the third Yankees starting pitcher in the last 19 seasons to make his debut at or before the age of 22, joining Deivi Garc\u00eda<\/a><\/strong> and Luis Severino<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n He took the loss after allowing a pair of runs over four-plus innings. His line was 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R-ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 80 pitches\/42 strikes. He caught Jung looking at a 96.5 mph sinker in the first inning for his first major league strikeout. The right-hander began his outing with four scoreless frames before running into trouble in the fifth, when he allowed each of the first four batters to reach, including Jung\u2019s two-run single that broke the scoreless tie.<\/p>\n After the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker<\/a><\/strong> couldn\u2019t help but praise Eovaldi\u2019s start. \u201cI\u2019m not surprised,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is who he is. It also shows you that he’s human. This was obviously the best start he\u2019s had for us this year. It’s okay to have a couple of starts that are not what he\u2019s used to. He just didn’t have it for a couple of starts. I think this is where he’s going to be the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Eovaldi also made an appearance postgame to reflect on his day. \u201cMy splitter is my go-to pitch when I’m in trouble,\u201d he remarked. \u201cI haven’t had much success with it early. It feels like every at-bat is a tough battle. I’ve been grinding, but using the splitter at the right times is big. And today I feel like the curveball was really big for met.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRangers Break Deadlock<\/h4>\n
What Went Right for the Rangers<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Rangers<\/h4>\n
Eovaldi Goes Seven<\/h4>\n
Rodriguez’ Debut<\/h4>\n
Schumaker\u2019s Postgame Comments<\/h4>\n
Eovaldi\u2019s Postgame Comments<\/h4>\n
Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>