'What a performance': Eovaldi's reputation as clincher grows

PHOENIX -- The pressure mounted with each out. Every pitch delivered by Nathan Eovaldi in Game 5 of the World Series carried extra weight as D-backs starter Zac Gallen no-hit the Rangers into the seventh inning at Chase Field. If Eovaldi could limit Arizona, though, he could give his team a chance to get hot late and capture the first World Series in franchise history.

For every zero Gallen posted, Eovaldi matched it in the bottom half of the frame. The 33-year-old right-hander had been here before, winning it all with the Red Sox in 2018, and knew how to lock in on this stage.

Eovaldi hurled six scoreless innings to set the Rangers up to forge a late-game rally and shut out the D-backs, 5-0, to win the 2023 World Series on Wednesday night. He became the first pitcher to earn five wins as a starter in a single postseason.

“It’s incredible,” Eovaldi said on the field shortly after the blue confetti fell from the trophy presentation. “Any World Series is great, but to be able to win it for Texas, that first one, it’s incredible … It’s a very special moment.”

Eovaldi, a Houston native, signed a two-year, $34 million deal with the Rangers in December to be in this very position. He recounted telling general manager Chris Young at the time, “My goal coming over here is to win a World Series championship.” So when Eovaldi prepared for Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead, his mindset was unwavering.

“Clinch and win,” the 12-year veteran said.

• Eovaldi's offseason addition helped lead to title

As Gallen sailed through six scoreless innings with a low pitch count, Eovaldi navigated traffic to yield the same results. Eovaldi, who sat in the tunnel like he usually does to avoid being distracted, faced 27 batters, tying the most in a scoreless postseason start of six innings pitched or fewer. He matched Chris Carpenter (Game 3, 2012 National League Division Series) and Cole Hamels (Game 3, ‘11 NLDS).

“It's all about our starting pitcher,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “What a job he did. He was in trouble, I think, every inning. Seemed like the leadoff guy was getting on. Had to pitch out of jams. Infield in. Second and third, one out. And made his pitches. He's done this his whole career. So we had the right guy out there. And thank goodness we had Nathan going today.”

Eovaldi overcame issuing five walks and not throwing a clean frame until the sixth by dealing five strikeouts and escaping a runner-on-third situation in three innings to preserve the scoreless match. He showed he was ready to grind from the onset when D-backs leadoff hitter Corbin Carroll reached third base in the second at-bat of the game, and Eovaldi stranded him in a five-batter first inning.

“Wow,” said three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer. “Zac Gallen’s out there basically throwing a perfect game against us, and Evo steps up and basically matches him. He might not be perfect, but he’s getting out of every single jam, throwing zeros up. Gallen’s throwing his best game. So what a performance by him. He was making all big-time pitches whenever he needed to.”

Eovaldi retired the side in the sixth with back-to-back strikeouts to give his teammates the foundation to go to work at the plate. World Series MVP Corey Seager broke up the no-hit bid in the first at-bat of the seventh to spark the rally.

“Zac threw the ball incredible tonight. Kept our offense off-balance for a long time,” said Eovaldi. “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. And it was my job to go out there and try to keep the score 0-0 until we're able to get on the board. And we were able to add on in the ninth. It was just a really good performance all around.”

With the win, Eovaldi improved to 4-0 with a 1.03 ERA in potential postseason-clinching games. That ERA is the lowest ever among players with at least four career starts and an opportunity to clinch in the playoffs.

As much as Eovaldi believed the Rangers had the potential to win the World Series when he signed as a free agent, watching it unfold on the field in front of him after delivering a memorable, gutsy performance needed time to sink in.

“All these moments right now, it’s hard to imagine right now that the season’s over,” Eovaldi said. “Obviously, I’m very excited and happy to be able to go out there and celebrate World Series champs, but it hasn’t all hit yet.”