Rowdy Tellez, Jake Burger Rescue Rangers to Beat Diamondbacks in Opener

Last Monday, the Rangers were down one run in the ninth inning. Joc Pederson slammed a solo home run to tie the game, and Josh Jung walked it off with a three-run home run in the 10th innings.

This Monday, it was nearly the same thing, just different players. Rowdy Tellez hit a solo home run to the game in the ninth inning. After Texas held Arizona scoreless in the top half of the 10th, Jake Burger came on to lace a walk-off single down the left-field line to score Sam Haggerty for the victory. Burger pinch-hit for Pederson in a fitting connection to last week.

This may mean nothing for this team. It can’t seem to stand prosperity, and the Rangers followed that Monday by losing four out of five games. But it’s the best possible case of the Mondays.  

Nathan Eovaldi is Human

Nathan Eovaldi picked a bad time to show that he’s human as he allowed five runs in five innings in his second start of August. He gave up eight hits, struck out three and walked one.

He found himself in a bad spot in the third inning. He allowed a double to Jake McCarthy and then Corbin Carroll — a former nemesis from their 2023 World Series matchup — homered to right field to make it a 3-0 game. It didn’t end there, either.

Eovaldi hit Ketel Marte in the elbow with a pitch. He was OK and he took his base. But either Eovaldi got distracted or he threw a bad pitch because Geraldo Pedromo homered off him to make it 5-0. His eye roll after allowing the Pedromo home run is one for the ages.

Entering the game, he had a 1.38 ERA in 19 starts. Had he maintained that ERA after his 20th start on Monday it would have put him fifth in MLB history after 20 games in a season.

Instead, he walked away from the game with a 1.71 ERA and the Rangers were in a 5-1 hole.

Also, the D-backs may just be his Kryptonite.

Wyatt’s Big Blast

Wyatt Langford’s bat had been quiet for a while. He hit his last home run on July 11 against Houston, which was three games before the start of the All-Star break. The slash had not been great since then — .212/.309/.282 with a .592 OPS. It was not just the lack of home runs. He only had six doubles in that 23-game span.

Well, in the sixth inning, Langford finally ended the drought with a home run. It wasn’t just a solo job either. It was a three-run shot in a four-run binge in the sixth inning in which the Rangers cut a 6-1 Arizona lead to one run.

It didn’t put the Rangers in the lead, but it did position them to rally to win late in the game. If Langford’s bat gets louder the rest of this series that should be good news for the Rangers the rest of the way.