ARLINGTON -- On Friday afternoon, when MacKenzie Gore heard that Nathan Eovaldi's knee was sore, he immediately went to manager Skip Schumaker’s office.
“He came in as soon as we heard about Evo and said, ‘I got it if you need me,’” Schumaker said. “That's what he said in Philly Opening Weekend too, when [Jacob] deGrom couldn’t make his start. He's a gamer, he wants the ball. The most impressive part is he went on a day short of when he should have gone out, and he went six innings and gave us a chance to win -- more than a chance to win. He was really, really good tonight. It's just too bad we couldn't get him the win.”
Eovaldi, who was slated to start Saturday afternoon against the Padres, was scratched with “a little bit of” left knee soreness. Gore -- on regular rest due to a team off-day on Wednesday -- was moved up from his scheduled start on Sunday to take Eovaldi's place. With the Rangers in the midst of 15 games in 15 days, Gore was the best option.
Gore did everything he needed to do, delivering a quality start, despite allowing a good bit of traffic. But he navigated around it well to limit the damage and put the Rangers in a position to win. He left the game in a 1-1 tie, before the bullpen gave up five runs (three earned) between the eighth and 10th innings.
The Rangers ultimately fell, 6-4.
“We needed him to do that,” Schumaker said of Gore. “He was kind of ambushed yesterday, and for him to put up a start like that was really, really impressive. If he eliminates walks, he is one of the top five, top 10 left-handed pitchers in the game. He was excellent through six innings, and again [Jake] Burger gave us the lead. We felt really good about the game towards the end.”
In the seventh inning, Burger had given Texas a 3-1 lead with a two-run homer off reliever Jason Adam. It was Burger's team-leading 13th homer of the season.
Schumaker said postgame that Eovaldi will likely start Sunday’s series finale against the Padres as the Rangers look for a series win.
Eovaldi has endured a number of injuries during his Rangers tenure, including right rotator cuff strain that ended his 2025 in August and cost him the final month of the season.
The 36-year-old has been healthy in 2026, but 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.
“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.”