Nathan Eovaldi Delivers One Last Magical Performance in Texas Rangers World Series Win
No one can blame Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen for his performance in what would be the final game of the 2023 MLB season.
How many pitchers can say they carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning? How many can claim they did in the World Series, no less?
Yes, Gallen will take the loss against the Texas Rangers, who secured their first World Series title in franchise history with a 5-0 win over the D-backs Wednesday night at Chase Field. An RBI single from Mitch Garver would have been enough to claim the victory.
But the reason goes well past one swing from yet another unsung hero on a potent Rangers' offense that throttled their way through October and kicked off November with an "everything's bigger in Texas" victory. It starts with the man on the mound.
Once again, Nathan Eovaldi looked more like a magician than a right-hander with a mid-90s fastball. Working out of jams seems to be a common theme for him this postseason.
"He's done this his whole career," manager Bruce Bochy said postgame. "So we had the right guy out there. And thank goodness we had Nathan going today."
Eovaldi, the ace of the Rangers' staff this season, had one more big moment left in him this postseason. That's what legends of October are made of, and each pitch was another sentence in Eovaldi's chapter of playoff lore.
But perhaps he saved his best for last on the biggest stage: the clinching platform. Eovaldi delivered six innings of masterclass pitching, allowing four hits and five walks while striking out five.
The snakes reached base, but they didn't get far when on. They swiped three bags, but Eovaldi swiped any chance for scoring opportunities.
"I don't know how many rabbits I have in my hat left," Eovaldi joked on the FOX broadcast.
Eovaldi's performance in Game 5 might perfectly epitomize this Rangers' squad. There were blips along the way where things looked like they could get out of control. Without question there were scares as if this could be the moment where everything would start to unravel.
Champions aren't made without facing a bit of adversity, and these Rangers faced plenty of it over the past month. Does one think winning 11 straight road games to secure titles comes as easy as a leisure trot around the base path?
Corbin Carroll drew a leadoff walk to begin Eovaldi's night. Christian Walker reached base in the same fashion two batters later after working the count full on eight pitches.
Eovaldi, who improved to 5-0 this playoff, didn't pull a rabbit out of his glove, but he did jam Tommy Pham on four-seamer inside to force a groundout and end the inning.
Similar results occurred for the next three frames. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. reached base with a leadoff single in the second. Eovaldi answered back with a groundout and two flyouts.
In the third, Gabriel Moreno advanced Carrol and Ketel Marte into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Eovaldi countered with a strikeout on Walker and a groundout by Pham.
Trouble ensued in the fourth with a two-out double from Evan Longoria. Yes, the veteran had a few more tricks up his batting gloves, but Eovaldi took advantage of the young Geraldo Perdomo with a fastball inside for a called third strike.
And if that wasn't enough, Eovaldi delivered a grand finale fifth inning. Marte drew a six-pitch walk and Walker knocked him into scoring position with a single. Pham stood on first five pitches later to load the bases with two outs.
For most pitchers, that likely would have been it. For Eovaldi, it was another day at the playoff office. A curveball later and the bases were cleared, only by a groundout from Gurriel to short to end the inning.
“Zac Gallen’s out there basically throwing a perfect game against us, and Evo steps up and basically matches him,' three-time Cy Young Award winner and teammate Max Scherzer said. "He might not be perfect, but he’s getting out of every single jam, throwing zeros up."
Wednesday's matchup mirrored a headline boxing match between two heavyweights who consistently found ways to counter each blow. Eovaldi took several jabs, but never received the knockout punch.
Gallen played defense most of the evening in the form of punchouts. He retired the first 14 batters before issuing a walk to Nathaniel Lowe in the fifth. He struck out six and only began to lose focus after a Corey Seager leadoff single in the seventh.
The Rangers saw their opportunity to weaken the D-backs' ace and didn't miss, putting Seager in scoring position with an Evan Carter double. Two pitches later, Garver drove in what could have been the winning run.
The Texas Rangers reacts after a Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien (not pictured) hit a two run home run during the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during game five of the 2023 World Series at Chase Field.
Rob Schumacher/Arizona Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
“Zac threw the ball incredible tonight. Kept our offense off-balance for a long time,” Eovaldi said. “That's just one of the good things about our offense; you can't say enough good things about them. One through nine, they were able to put together quality at-bats and get the job done."
When Eovaldi inked a two-year deal with the Rangers this offseason, he was considered the "other" pitcher. Texas had just signed New York Mets star Jacob deGrom on a five-year $185 million to become the rotation's ace.
deGrom's season was over by June after undergoing Tommy John surgery and Texas needed a veteran to step up. Enter Eovaldi, who finished the regular season with a 12-5 record and a 3.63 ERA.
That success carried over into October. The Rangers won all six games Eovaldi started, and he finished with a 2.95 ERA. He struck out 41 batters and allowed 31 hits.
Eovaldi signed in Arlington as another name to the rotation. Along the way, he became the magician who made the Rangers' World Series blues disappear.
"To be over here and be able to be part of the Rangers organization and be able to bring that first World Series championship to us, it's an incredible moment and incredible feeling," Eovaldi said.
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