HOUSTON -- All October, the Rangers have heaped praise onto Nathan Eovaldi, complimenting the right-hander for his stuff and his poise and raving about their confidence in the 33-year-old.

And when push came to shove on Sunday night, with the Rangers¡¯ season on the line, manager Bruce Bochy showed exactly how much Texas believes in Eovaldi -- even when he wasn¡¯t at his best.

With a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning, Bochy sent Eovaldi -- who had labored through six innings by stranding six Astros -- back out to battle Houston¡¯s lineup the fourth time through the order. He ended up facing 28 batters, tied for the most faced by a pitcher in a playoff game since 2020.

¡°Once we tied it up 1-1, it was just, ¡®Go out there and try to go as long as I can. Get as many outs as possible,¡¯¡± Eovaldi said postgame on the FOX broadcast.

Although his seventh inning was cut short by a softly hit Jose Altuve single, Eovaldi ended with a gutsy performance to help Texas take a 9-2 win over Houston in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park.

At this point, it¡¯s what the right-hander is known for. His team has won nine of the 10 playoff games he started. The last and only time his team lost a game he started in the postseason? The Red Sox in Game 6 against the Astros in the 2021 ALCS.

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¡°He's done it so many times,¡± Bochy said. ¡°He has the ability to rise to the occasion. He has great stuff, start with that. But the makeup of this man, it's amazing. He wants to be out there in a game like this.

¡°... He's the guy we needed out there tonight.¡±

Texas is 4-0 in Eovaldi's four postseason starts, in which he boasts a 2.42 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He used a key mechanical adjustment to dominate in the first three outings, regaining lost velocity on his four-seam fastball and relying on his wipeout splitter to accumulate a postseason high in strikeouts (nine in Game 2 vs. Houston).

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The Astros didn¡¯t bite on the splitter in Game 6. But Eovaldi adjusted accordingly after struggling in the first frame, limiting hard contact and holding Houston to 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position despite five hits (all singles) and three walks.

The veteran right-hander returned the praise from his clubhouse and credited catcher Jonah Heim for helping him find a groove. Eovaldi, ever the gracious teammate, similarly expressed his trust in Game 7 starter Max Scherzer.

¡°He's been in the situation before,¡± Eovaldi said. ¡°He knows how to go out there and compete and pitch. I think he's definitely going to be a lot better than his last outing. ¡­ I know that last start didn't sit so well, and the competitor that he is, he is going to go out and do a great job tomorrow.¡±

Scherzer took the loss in Game 3 on Thursday in his first start in over a month after a Sept. 12 right teres major strain. But his experience in big games and postseason resume give Eovaldi confidence that he can bounce back in another must-win ALCS game.

Eovaldi certainly showed it with his own postseason experience.

¡°I¡¯ve kind of run out of words at this point,¡± Heim said. ¡°I don't know. When he¡¯s got that kind of resume, you think things have to turn around at some point, but I don't think it is. That's the kind of guy he is. He¡¯s a guy who is gonna give you everything he¡¯s got. He¡¯s gonna come and compete, and he¡¯s gonna give you the chance to win every time.¡±