His Friday performance didn’t manifest in a win, but Nathan Eovaldi sure looked like a pitcher the Red Sox could use right now.
After Texas’ new ace, Jacob deGrom, got smoked by the Phillies on Opening Day, Eovaldi churned out a middling performance. The ex-Red Sox right-hander gave up three runs on six hits and a pair of walks over five innings, although he did punch out six. More importantly, that was enough for him to get the win, as his offense backed him with 16 runs of support.
That same run support was not there on Friday. However, Eovaldi did his part to make sure the Rangers’ offense didn’t have to be nearly as explosive against the Cubs. This time, he came up one out short of his first quality start as a member of the Rangers. Over his 5 2/3 innings of work, Eovaldi gave up two runs on five hits and a walk, striking out six again.
Looking at some of the other Ex-Red Sox, Xander Bogaerts is continuing his run of success in San Diego. He’s hitting .333 with three home runs, three doubles, eight RBIs and a 1.133 OPS to start his Padres career.
J.D. Martinez hasn’t done as well getting acclimated to his NL West home. Through eight games, he’s hitting .233 with three doubles and one home run, leading to a .727 OPS. Also, in 34 plate appearances, Martinez has struck out 13 times.