Eovaldi pitches 7 scoreless innings, Lowe hits two 2-run home runs, Texas beats Padres 7-0

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi allowed one hit in seven innings, Nathaniel Lowe hit two two-run home runs and the Texas Rangers ended their 11-game losing streak against the San Diego Padres with a 7-0 victory Tuesday night.

Eovaldi (5-3) struck out six players and retired 21 of 22 batters. The right-hander threw 61 of his 92 pitches as strikes.

“He's been great. That's the guy he wants to be for us every time he gets the ball,” Lowe said. “Beautiful. That's what he does.”

Jonathan Hernández allowed a hit in the final two innings to secure the Rangers' eighth shutout of the season. San Diego, which had won nine of its last 11 games, remained scoreless for the sixth time.

Texas ended the longest losing streak against a single opponent in franchise history, dating back to September 2018. It was San Diego's most consecutive wins against another team and the longest active streak in MLB.

San Diego's only hit against Eovaldi was a single to right by a cutter on the first pitch to No. 9 hitter Bryce Johnson, a .167 batting average, with two outs in the third inning.

That was two batters after Ha-Seong Kim's grounder was deflected by third baseman Jonathan Ornelas. Shortstop Josh Smith ran forward as He caught the ball with his bare hands and threw it in one movement to throw the batter out first.

“We had some really good defensive plays behind me, which always helps,” Eovaldi said. “If we can score first, my job is to keep that in check and try not to let them get back into the game. … Once we get a big enough lead, we kind of go into even more of an attack mode.”

Lowe gave Texas a 2-0 lead when he pulled a pitch from Dylan Cease (7-7) into the right-field seats in the first inning. Lowe went the opposite way in the third inning, a 383-foot home run that just cleared the wall in left and gave Texas a 5-0 lead.

It was Lowe's fifth game with multiple home runs, his first in three years and one day. It was also his third consecutive game with multiple hits and the sixth in an 11-game streak in which he had 12 RBIs.

Leody Taveras had two doubles, the first of which scored a run. He scored after another when Marcus Semien broke an 0-for-18 slide with a bloop single that made it 6-0 in the fourth inning. Taveras went first in the sixth inning and scored when Ornelas hit a double for his first career RBI.

Cease allowed six runs on eight hits, six of them for extra bases, in 3 2/3 innings, his shortest start of the season. He had five strikeouts and two walks.

“I didn't execute it well,” said Cease. “I really didn't get anything done and didn't give us a chance. So it wasn't a good night.”

Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, who could return to Texas for the All-Star Game in two weeks, was 0 for 3, ending his 13-game hitting streak and tying his career high set with Texas in 2016.

TRAINING ROOM

Padres: Manager Mike Shildt said 2B Xander Bogaerts (left shoulder fracture) received positive reports on his latest CT scan and is close to beginning a rehab program. Bogaerts was injured May 20 when he dove for a ball while playing in the field. … C Luis Campusano (left thumb contusion) was scheduled to catch for Class A Lake Elsinore after being the designated hitter in his first rehab game on Monday.

Rangers: SS Corey Seager was not in the lineup for the second straight game since being hit by a pitch on the left wrist on Saturday. … RHP Tyler Mahle pitched two scoreless innings for Triple-A Round Rock in his first rehab start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2023. Against Sugar Land, 12 of his 19 pitches were strikes.

NEXT

Rangers right-hander Jon Gray (3-4, 3.77 ERA) has 12 career wins against the Padres, his most against another team. Right-hander Adam Mazur (1-2, 7.25) makes his sixth career start for San Diego.

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