Juding by last night’s ALCS Game 3, the Texas Rangers may very well need their ace Nathan Eovaldi to come up big once again in the coming days.
What’s remarkable is the way Eovaldi has grown as a pitcher over the years.
He’s gone from a flame-thrower with a very limited arsenal to a legitimate big-game pitcher.
Most impressively, the tougher the moment, the better he seems to pitch.
Interestingly, he credited his former teammate Alex Rodriguez with helping him grow and develop.
Speaking to the FOX Sports postgame crew following his dominant performance in Game 2, Eovaldi elaborated on the positive effect Arod had on him.
“You’re the one who got me on that back in 2015 … It’s like, you got to use that high fastball,” Eovaldi said, referring to using his high fastball more often.
“You can’t just keep the outside-down … And I mean, it’s been a game changer,” he said.
"You're the one who got me on that back in 2015… it's been a game changer."
Nathan Eovaldi to @arod after breaking down how he got out of the bases loaded jam with no outs in the 5th pic.twitter.com/k9xHsRL8XG
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 17, 2023
Of course, Arod is one of the biggest lightning-rods in baseball history.
He’s no stranger to controversy and has just about more enemies than anyone.
Love him or hate him however, you can never doubt his baseball knowledge.
Good thing for Eovaldi and the Rangers, it seems like Arod’s old advice is paying off.
Getting back to the series … Now that the Astros have finally shown a little life, who do you think will end up winning the ALCS???