Eovaldi 3-hitter leads Rangers over Yanks 2-0 as Judge sits

Updated Apr. 29, 2023 10:27 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi pitched a three-hitter for his first big league nine-inning shutout, Ezequiel Duran hit a two-run homer in the fifth and the Texas Rangers beat the listless Yankees 2-0 Saturday night for New York’s fifth loss in seven games.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge missed his second straight game with a mild hip strain, joining Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, and Harrison Bader on the sidelines. New York was shut out for the first time this season and has scored two runs or fewer in five of its last seven games.

“Classic Nate when he’s really on top of it. He kind of bullied us,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He used both sides of the plate, was a little bit unpredictable between slowing us down a little bit with the curveball."

Jake Bauers didn’t make it past the first inning of his Yankees debut, crashing headfirst into the left-field wall in a full sprint while catching Adolis García’s drive and leaving with a bruised right knee.

The 27-year-old fell to the ground and held onto the ball for the final out of the inning, stranding Travis Jankowski on second base. New York said X-rays were negative.

Before 40,027, a record crowd at Globe Life Field, Eovaldi (3-2) struck out a season-high eight and walked none against one of his former teams.

“It means a lot to me,” Eovaldi said of the shutout. “I think it’s just being able to use all of my pitches at all times. I was able to get some outs with my slider tonight, which I usually never … I usually hang that pitch, and they end up hitting it.”

His only previous shutout was a five-inning, rain-shortened game for Boston against Tampa Bay last Oct. 4. It was the third career complete game for Eovaldi and the first shutout by a Texas pitcher at Globe Life Field, which opened in 2020.

“I’ve faced these guys a lot and know they’re aggressive,” Eovaldi said. "We wanted to make sure we established the inside part of the plate early, and once we were able to do that, we were able to mix in the splitters first pitch, second pitch the second time around and got some quick outs.”

Rookie Jhony Brito (2-3) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Boone said the team will evaluate Judge through the weekend before determining whether the reigning AL MVP will go on the injured list.

Rangers: RHP Jacob deGrom was placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation after early exits in two of his last three starts. ... SS Corey Seager (left hamstring) took some grounders Saturday. He has been on the IL since he got hurt running bases April 11.

UP NEXT

In a matchup of All-Star left-handers with 3-1 records, Martín Pérez starts Sunday for the Rangers and Nestor Cortes for the Yankees. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports