The Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers opened a three-game series Monday night in Arlington, Texas, with first pitch from Globe Life Field scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET. Michael Soroka was set to start for Arizona, while Nathan Eovaldi was lined up for Texas.
The matchup came with the Diamondbacks at 19-20 and the Rangers at 19-21, a narrow gap between two clubs trying to steady themselves in the middle of May. Arizona won the 2025 season series 4-2, but it arrived in Arlington after losing seven of its last 10 games and after a 1-5 road trip. The Rangers, by contrast, had won two straight and had not allowed a run in their last two games.
Arizona still had some momentum from Sunday, when it beat the New York Mets 5-1 to finish its homestand 3-3. Eduardo Rodriguez improved to 4-0 after working 8 1/3 innings, and Ryan Waldschmidt had two hits and his first three career RBIs. Texas carried a different kind of form into the opener. It shut out the Chicago Cubs 6-0 on Saturday and 3-0 on Sunday, with Jacob deGrom earning his third win and Jacob Latz picking up his fourth save after two perfect innings. Evan Carter also homered twice for the Rangers in the sweep, including a two-run shot on Sunday.
The starting matchup added another layer. Soroka entered with a 4-2 record and a 4.14 ERA, along with a 1.43 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 10.2 K/9 in 37 innings. Eovaldi came in at 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9 in 47 2/3 innings. The numbers suggested two pitchers capable of getting deep into the game, even if the recent trends pointed in different directions for their teams.
That contrast mattered because the Diamondbacks had allowed three or fewer runs in five of their last six games, while the Rangers were 6-6 in their last 12 home games and 9-9 overall. Arizona also had five straight games finish under 8 total runs, its longest such stretch of the season, while five of Texas’ last nine games reached 8 or more. Four of the six meetings between the clubs last season also produced eight or more runs, as did five of Eovaldi’s eight starts and four of Soroka’s seven starts. The rest of this series may turn on which trend holds: Arizona’s recent lower-scoring stretch or Texas’ ability to keep carrying over the run prevention that has carried it into the opener.
