{"id":214541,"date":"2026-04-29T20:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/214541\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T20:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:43:22","slug":"new-york-yankees-texas-rangers-elmer-rodriguez-vs-nathan-eovaldi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/214541\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Yankees @ Texas Rangers: Elmer Rodr\u00edguez vs. Nathan Eovaldi"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s past vs. the future this afternoon in Arlington, as the Yankees go for a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers<\/a> in a Wednesday matinee on the backs of a highly-touted prospect making his MLB debut against a grizzled veteran who once donned the pinstripes as a youngster.<\/p>\n

Elmer Rodr\u00edguez is getting an audition these next two weeks, as he figures to get two (maybe three?) starts as the Yankees\u2019 fifth starter before Carlos Rod\u00f3n<\/a> returns from his rehab assignment. For a breakdown of what to expect, check out Andr\u00e9s\u2019 piece<\/a> from this morning.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Acquired from the rival Red Sox<\/a> for Carlos Narv\u00e1ez<\/a> in December 2024, the Puerto Rico native is the No. 72-ranked prospect in all of baseball and No. 3 in the Yankees\u2019 organization behind George Lombard Jr. and Carlos Lagrange. After a solid spring training and World Baseball Classic performance, Rodr\u00edguez was off to a dynamite start in Scranton, pitching to a 1.27 ERA in 21.1 innings with 20 strikeouts to just four walks. He doesn\u2019t seem to have a path to staying in the bigs for much of this season, barring injury, but the Yankees clearly would rather try him out than keep throwing Luis Gil<\/a> every fifth day.<\/p>\n

Old frenemy<\/a> Nathan Eovaldi<\/a> gets the start for the Rangers and will be making his 22nd career start against his former team, the most of any opponent. Originally drafted by the Dodgers<\/a>, he was dealt to the Marlins for Hanley Ram\u00edrez<\/a> and then flipped to the Yanks in December 2014 alongside Garrett Jones<\/a> and then-prospect Domingo Germ\u00e1n<\/a> for Mart\u00edn Prado<\/a> and David Phelps. He spent two years in pinstripes and made 48 starts before undergoing Tommy John surgery and being released after the 2016 season.<\/p>\n

From then on, he\u2019s been an enemy. He split time with the Rays<\/a> and Red Sox in 2018 and was a key part of Boston<\/a>\u2019s 2018 World Series victory. After gettomg a new contract from Boston, he had a down 2019, but rebounded to be one of the most effective and consistent pitchers in the game for the next three seasons and tortured the Yankees along the way, allowing two runs in 12.1 career postseason innings against New York<\/a>. He\u2019s spent the last few years in Texas, where he won a another ring in 2023 and has been similarly steady until this year, when he\u2019s struggled to a 5.79 ERA through six starts, giving up an AL-high nine homers.<\/p>\n

Eovaldi still has great command, gets a lot of groundballs, and plenty of chases and whiffs, but he\u2019s getting tagged significantly more this year than ever before. His fastball has never been his money pitch, but it has a startlingly bad<\/a> -7 run value this year, while his cutter and curveball have similarly regressed. His strength remains his filthy splitter, which he\u2019ll use to keep a powerful lineup honest all night.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Trent Grisham<\/a>\u2019s injury scare last night wasn\u2019t enough to keep him out of the lineup today, as he leads off. The usual next four follow, with Jasson Dom\u00ednguez<\/a> getting his first start in left field in 2026 so Judge can DH, batting sixth. J.C. Escarra<\/a> gets the \u201cday game after a night game\u201d start, followed by Ryan McMahon<\/a> and Jos\u00e9 Caballero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Similar top of the order for the Rangers with Brandon Nimmo<\/a>, Josh Jung<\/a>, Corey Seager<\/a>, and Joc Pederson<\/a>. The top six is identical to last night, but Kyle Higashioka<\/a> slides in at catcher and Ezequiel Duran<\/a> bats ninth at second base, with Alejandro Osuna<\/a> between them.<\/p>\n

How to watch<\/p>\n

Location: Globe Life Field \u2014 Arlington, TX<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

First pitch: 2:35 pm ET<\/p>\n

TV broadcast: YES, Rangers Sports Network<\/p>\n

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660\/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY), 105.2 The Fan, KLFC 1270 (TEX)<\/p>\n

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only)<\/p>\n

For updates, follow us on BlueSky<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and like us on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n