Nathan Eovaldi puts wobbly start to season behind him in dominant return to form

The Rangers headed into Sacramento at Sutter Health Park facing a red-hot Athletics squad that had won five games in a row in New York against the Yankees and Mets.

The A's were also returning home to their cozy confines that favor hitters looking to continue their streak, but Nathan Eovaldi had other ideas and showed he is back to the dominant starter that we have seen for the last several seasons.

The Rangers took the A's and starter Luis Severino out behind the woodshed, winning 8-1 on the Monday night opener of the four-game set.

Eovaldi has shaken off a slow start to 2026

Big Game Nate began the new season with two uncharacteristically poor starts, giving up 11 earned runs in 8.2 innings pitched, for an 11.42 ERA. He lost both starts on a road trip that saw the Rangers go 4-2.

Eovaldi was wild within the zone and was missing his spots that he normally hits with pinpoint accuracy. It was a concerning beginning for Skip Schumaker and Rangers' fans.

But Monday night, Evo had everything working in seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits over seven innings. He did it with remarkable efficiency, needing only 84 pitches. He was ready to come out for the eighth, but the Rangers' offense had a long top half of the inning, extending their lead from 4-0 to 8-0. Schumaker decided to turn it over to Luis Curevlo for the final two innings.

No reason for Ranger fan to be concerned about Eovaldi

Eovaldi has erased early worries, winning his last two games, allowing just two earned runs over 13 innings pitched. He has evened his record at 2-2, lowering his ERA to 5.40.

The Rangers' postseason hero had his brilliant splitter dropping off the table all night on his way to fanning seven batters. He mixed in his usual myriad of pitches to set up the strikeout pitch, including a good slow curve and a nasty cutter to go along with his 95 mph heat.

The A's are a good-hitting team and the Rangers struggled at Sutter Health last season. Still, Evo didn't even allow a runner to get to third base, dominating throughout and keeping their potent sluggers off balance all night.

Jake Burger had Nate's back, smashing two long homers and driving in four runs early. Once a veteran like Evo gets a quick, big lead, it's going to be tough for teams to come back from that.

It was an encouraging second start in a row against a quality offensive team and quelled any concerns that Eovaldi was hurt or struggling to find his stuff this year.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow