Nathan Eovaldi delivered seven scoreless innings as the Texas Rangers defeated the New York Yankees 3-0 on Wednesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Yankees prospect Elmer Rodríguez made his major league debut, holding the Rangers scoreless into the fifth before Josh Jung's two-run single. Injuries affected both teams, with Rangers outfielder Brandon Nimmo leaving due to hamstring tightness and Yankees' Jasson Domínguez exiting after being hit by a pitch.
Elmer Rodríguez, the Yankees' No. 3 prospect and baseball's No. 72 overall, took the mound for his big league debut at age 22. The right-hander from Puerto Rico -- the fourth Puerto Rican pitcher to start for New York -- walked four batters, allowed four hits and struck out three while keeping Texas off the board for four innings. Josh Jung chased him with a two-run single in the fifth, accounting for all the game's runs. Jacob Latz earned the save after Eovaldi's dominant outing of seven innings, four hits, seven strikeouts and 20 whiffs. Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised Rodríguez's poise: “His stuff was good; the strike-throwing wasn’t as sharp as it’s going to be... You saw his stuff play. A little better on the strike-throwing part and it’s a different line. He still kept us in the game.” Rodríguez reflected, “This was something I’ve been dreaming of my whole life.” Yankees captain Aaron Judge added, “I’ve been excited about him since we traded for him. He’s going to be a big piece for us going forward.” The Yankees fell to 3-3 after completing a 7-2 road trip, swept on the line. Rangers skipper Skip Schumaker lauded Eovaldi post a rough prior start: “This is who he is.” Eovaldi relied on his splitter and cutter, saying, “Using the splitter at the right times is big.” Brandon Nimmo exited for the Rangers with right hamstring tightness after an infield single in the fifth; he expects to play Friday. Jasson Domínguez left the Yankees after an Eovaldi cutter hit his left elbow; inconclusive X-rays lead to a Thursday CT scan.
