Gore starts vs. Padres after Eovaldi (knee soreness) scratched
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Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, who was slated to start Saturday afternoon against the Padres, was scratched with “a little bit of” left knee soreness.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore was moved up from his scheduled start Sunday to take Eovaldi's place. He’s on regular rest after a team off-day on Wednesday -- and with the Rangers currently in the midst of 15 games in 15 days, he was the best option.
Manager Skip Schumaker said Eovaldi felt sore on Friday, so they approached Gore about moving up a day.
“MacKenzie obviously was ready to go, which was beneficial to us,” Schumaker said. “We didn't have to push him up to three days' rest or anything. Obviously, a bullpen day during this stretch wasn't ideal either, so luckily Mac wanted to do it, and we're lucky that he was ready.”
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The 36-year-old Eovaldi has been in the midst of a down year with the Rangers, posting a 6-7 record with a 4.23 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 14 starts this season. He has tallied 83 strikeouts against 21 walks across 87 1/3 innings pitched. In his first three seasons with Texas from 2023-25, he went 35-16 with a 3.14 ERA in 76 outings.
Schumaker said it’s a possibility that Eovaldi could start Sunday’s series finale against the Padres, but it is still to be determined.
“Anytime you push someone back, you have a little bit of concern,” Schumaker said. “He played catch today, did a little bit of touch and feel, so that was good to see. It's always the next day, and how he feels, and recovery-wise. Today was better than yesterday, a lot better than yesterday. Hopefully it keeps trending in the right direction, and we'll see what it looks like tomorrow.”
Kumar Rocker, who last pitched on Tuesday, could also pitch on regular rest Sunday. The Rangers could use a bullpen day if necessary, though they would surely like to avoid that during this stretch with no off-days.
“There's a number of things in the air, quite honestly,” Schumaker reiterated. “There's probably three different options that we can go to. I think that's probably for that guy [points to general manager Ross Fenstermaker] to decide. We'll talk about it all later today.”