Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run homer, Nathan Eovaldi pitched six solid innings, and the Texas Rangers ended their three-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.
Wyatt Langford added three hits for the Rangers, who are 6-5 since the All-Star break. Corey Seager, Jonah Heim, Adolis Garcia, and Leody Taveras also contributed with RBIs.
Matt Carpenter homered for St. Louis, which has lost four of its last five games. Lowe hit a 407-foot home run, his ninth of the season, off Chris Roycroft in the sixth inning to give Texas a 6-2 lead.
“I think I’m just making better swing decisions,” Lowe said. “Just offering at stuff I have a chance to drive.” Closer Kirby Yates picked up his 19th save in as many opportunities.
Eovaldi (8-4) allowed three runs on six hits during his 82-pitch outing. The 34-year-old right-hander struck out two batters and did not issue a walk for the sixth consecutive game, covering 43 innings. His last walk was in the third inning of a June 26 game at Milwaukee. He has struck out 32 batters in six appearances in July.
Eovaldi has faced a franchise-record 166 consecutive hitters without issuing a walk, the longest streak in the majors this season, surpassing Zach Eflin’s streak of 165 hitters without a walk from April 26 to June 16 while with Tampa Bay.
“He knows how to turn it up a notch when he has to,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s done that his whole career.”
Eovaldi changed his uniform and undershirt after every inning during the game, which began with a heat index around 100 degrees (38 Celsius).
“Everybody’s out there sweating, it’s kind of tough to get a good grip on the ball,” Eovaldi said. “You try and go out there and attack. They’re going through the same thing that we’re going through.”
Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien made a diving stop of a bases-loaded line drive, which led to an inning-ending double play in the seventh.
Texas took the lead for good, 3-2, with two runs in the fourth inning. Heim tied the game with a run-scoring hit, and Taveras broke the tie with a run-producing grounder to first base.
