Eovaldi picked to start season opener against Cubs
SURPRISE, Ariz. — In the least surprising development of spring training, the Texas Rangers officially named Nathan Eovaldi their opening day starter on Tuesday.
Actually, they announced it on Tuesday.
They made the decision back in December, manager Bruce Bochy said.
“To be honest, I told him back then,” Bochy said. “It was pretty obvious.”
With Cy Young Award winners Max Scherzer and Jacob degrom on the shelf to June and August respectively, the next best thing was a postseason hero. And Eovaldi certainly fit that bill.
Eovaldi, 34, went 5-0 last postseason and was the winner in the decisive Game 5 of the World Series. It will be his fourth opening day start. Eovaldi went 12-5 with a 3.63 ERA last year in 144 innings. He missed time during the second half of the season, but returned to be the Rangers’ best starter, along with Jordan Montgomery during the postseason run. He made six starts during the postseason and posted a 2.95 ERA. He was the unquestioned leader of the pitching staff all season.
“It’s so hard to quantify what he does besides when he’s on the mound,” Bochy said. “You see him in the bullpens. He watches guys and talks to guys. He bounces around the clubhouse all day. It’s great to have that kind of leadership. As a manager, you appreciate those guys that step into the breach and really become another set of eyes and ears.”
He will face the Cubs’ Justin Steele at 6:35 p.m. on March 28 when the Rangers hoist their World Series flag.
Eovaldi was not immediately available for comment. He had a bullpen to throw in advance of his Friday exhibition finale, which will be about four innings. He’s compiled a 3.72 ERA in 92⁄3 “A” game innings this spring. He’s also pitched twice in minor league games, most recently on Sunday to avoid having the Cubs see him. He threw 100 pitches in six innings in that game and recorded 11 strikeouts.
“The first time out, I said we need to put him on ice,” Bochy said of Eovaldi’s spring. “That’s how he threw that day. He’s thrown the ball well all spring. The velocity, the breaking ball, the splitter. He’s a guy you have to kind of hold back a little bit. The other day, in the minor league game, you’d have thought it was the fifth game of the World Series.”
Sborz returns to mound for BP
After being slowed for nearly two weeks by some “minor” knee soreness, Texas Rangers reliever Josh Sborz returned to the mound Monday to throw live batting practice. Among those he faced: Corey Seager.
Manager Bruce Bochy said he has no concerns that Sborz will not be ready for the season opener on March 28.
Sborz last pitched in a game on March 6. He has just three innings of work this spring, but with another week left in the exhibition schedule, Sborz should have time to up his inning count to about six or seven.
Sborz, who allowed just one run in 12 innings during the Rangers’ postseason run last year, is expected to be a key late-inning piece of the Rangers bullpen, along with likely primary closer José Leclerc, David Robertson and Kirby Yates.
Sborz has allowed a pair of runs in three innings thus far this spring. He has walked one and struck out three. Sborz began last season on the IL with an ankle sprain after a rough spring.