HOUSTON -- The home run lights began to flicker at Minute Maid Park as Yordan Alvarez started to round the bases in the fourth inning after connecting with a hanging curveball out of the hand of Nathan Eovaldi.
But Rangers outfielder Brandon Nimmo leapt at the wall, as fans in the first row of the section cowered away. Nimmo reached over the wall to bring back the would-be home run from Alvarez as the lights turned back on, keeping the Rangers and Astros in a scoreless tie early in Sunday’s finale.
The catch would preserve Eovaldi’s stellar outing, while setting up the Rangers’ offense for its only big offensive day of the series.
Eovaldi’s seven scoreless innings, along with a Jake Burger two-run homer and a five-run fifth would create a perfect storm for the Rangers to avoid a sweep with an 8-0 win over the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Eovaldi was scratched from his last scheduled outing on May 11 against the Diamondbacks due to left side tightness, which ultimately did not require an injured list stint. He didn’t skip a beat getting back on the mound.
After posting a 5.79 ERA across his first six starts this season, Eovaldi has now allowed just one run over his last three starts (22 IP), lowering his season ERA to 3.64.