Eovaldi's return turns sour for 'frustrated' Rangers

ARLINGTON -- “Frustrated” seems to be the word of the homestand for the Rangers.

And nothing quite embodies that frustration like back-to-back losses to your in-state rival by a combined 20 runs in the midst of a division race. On Tuesday night, the Rangers fell, 14-1, to the Astros at Globe Life Field, dropping their second consecutive series of the homestand and moving to 4-8 against Houston this season.

“We’re extremely frustrated,” said starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. “They're one of the biggest teams in our division. Seattle's been playing great. [Houston’s] been playing great. We feel like we haven't been performing up to our standards and for them to come in here these past few nights and for them to beat us the way that they have, it's very frustrating for us."

• Games remaining: vs HOU (1); vs OAK (3); at TOR (4); at CLE (3); vs BOS (3); vs SEA (3); at LAA (3); at SEA (4)
• Standings update: The Rangers fell into third place in the American League West, one game behind the Mariners and two behind the Astros. With the win, Houston moves into sole possession of first place in the division. Texas also fell a half game back of Toronto, who won, for the third AL Wild Card spot.

The Rangers were down from the very first batter when Jose Altuve continued a historic stretch with a leadoff homer against Eovaldi, and the Astros never looked back.

Eovaldi, making his first start since July 18 after landing on the IL with a forearm strain, gave up four runs in just 1 1/3 innings and 35 pitches. Despite being activated without a rehab assignment, the right-hander said he felt like he was ready to go and could get Major League hitters out.

Eovaldi got some outs, but he had to work hard for them. He had just one strikeout and one walk, and Houston hitters were often able to work him deep into counts throughout his short outing.

“It felt great being back out there, and physically I feel great,” Eovaldi said. “The results were just not what I wanted. I felt like I fell behind a lot of the guys, and I just wasn't executing my secondary pitches the way I normally do and left a lot of those up in the zone. I feel like I just have to do a better job coming out there in the situation and attacking the zone.”

In the last 18 games entering the day, the Rangers bullpen is 4-8 with a 6.69 ERA allowing 54 earned runs in 72 2/3 innings. Over that span, relievers have also gone 2-for-12 in save chances and have allowed 20 homers and 34 walks. Tuesday night, Dane Dunning and Ian Kennedy combined to give up 10 runs on 13 hits.

“He made some mistakes,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Dunning. “Like I said, we made a lot of them, and they all left the ballpark. That's a good club over there. You make mistakes, you’re probably gonna pay for it and that's what happened tonight. It just got away from us.”

The Rangers are now 4-14 in their last 18 games as they’ve slipped from first to third in the AL West. Bochy emphasized that he believes their luck has got to turn around soon and tough stretches don’t last forever.

“I think you have to remind yourself of a couple of things here: One, who we are and what we were for the most part this season,” Bochy said. “We're right there, as bad as things look. Trust me, these guys don't want to play like this tonight. It's going to turn. That's a part of my job also, is to believe that too. It's been a tough go. We're not in first place like we were, but we're right there in the hunt.

“We're a better club than this, pitching-wise, offensively. We can't forget what's happened this season, you have to remember who you are. You just gotta continue to fight. You have no choice. We're too good a ballclub. There's too much talent in there. I firmly believe it, so that's how I'm gonna feel until the end of the season.”