Lowe hits 2-run homer, Eovaldi works 6 solid innings and Rangers beat Cardinals to snap 3-game skid

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run homer, Nathan Eovaldi worked six solid innings and the Texas Rangers snapped a three-game skid with a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Wyatt Langford added three hits for the Rangers, who have gone 6-5 since the All-Star break. Corey Seager, Jonah Heim, Adolis Garcia and Leody Taveras also drove in runs for the Rangers.

Matt Carpenter homered for St. Louis, which has lost four of its last five games.

Lowe hit a 407-foot homer, his ninth of the season, off Chris Roycroft in the sixth inning to give Texas a 6-2 lead.

“I think I’m just making better swing decisions,” Lowe said. “Just offering at stuff I have a chance to drive.”

Closer Kirby Yates picked his 19th save in as many chances.

Eovaldi (8-4) allowed three runs on six hits in an 82-pitch outing. The 34-year-old right-hander struck out two and did not walk a batter for the sixth successive outing covering 43 innings. His last walk came in the third inning of a June 26 game at Milwaukee. He has struck out 32 batters in six July appearances.

Eovaldi has faced a franchise-record 166 successive hitters without issuing a walk. He also has the longest such streak in the majors this season, passing Zach Eflin, who faced 165 hitters without a walk from April 26-June 16 while with Tampa Bay — before recently getting traded to Baltimore.

“He knows how to turn it up a notch when he has to,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s done that his whole career.”

Eovaldi changed his uniform and undershirt after every single inning during the contest, which began with a heat index around 100 degrees (38 Celsius).

“Everybody’s out there sweating, it’s kind of tough to get a good grip on the ball,” Eovaldi said. “You try and go out there and attack. They’re going through the same thing that we’ve going through.”

Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien made a diving stop of a bases-loaded line drive that started an inning-ending double play in the seventh.

Texas took the lead for good, 3-2, with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Heim tied the game with a run-scoring hit. Taveras snapped the tie with a run-producing grounder to first base.

“A well-played game by us,” Bochy said. “What I like is that we had contributions throughout the order. A lot of guys did things that helped win that ball game.”

Carpenter was inserted into the starting lineup due to his success against Eovaldi, with six hits in 12 career at-bats. His two-run homer in the third inning was his third of the season.

Andre Pallante (4-5) gave up three earned runs on seven hits over five innings, walking two and striking out five in the loss.

“I didn’t pitch as well as I’m capable of,” Pallante said. “I thought I made some mistakes over the heart of the plate.”

Earlier Monday, r eigning World Series champion Texas traded veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen to the Kansas City Royals for minor league left-handed reliever Walter Pennington ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.

The Cardinals added starting pitcher Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham from the Chicago White Sox as part of a three-team deal.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: RHP Jon Gray was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right groin ailment suffered while warming up for Sunday’s game in Toronto. He will likely undergo an MRI in the next few days to determine the extent of the injury.

UP NEXT

St. Louis RHP Lance Lynn (5-4, 4.17) will face RHP Max Scherzer (2-3, 3.57) in the second of a three-game set on Tuesday night. Lynn made five appearances against Texas in the 2011 World Series. He threw a scoreless eighth inning in a Game 7 victory. Scherzer, a St. Louis native, will be making his eighth appearance of the season after missing the first 11 weeks of the year while recovering from a herniated disc in his back.

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