BIOGRAPHY
Nathan Eovaldi was born February 13, 1990, in Alvin, Texas. He is a pitcher in the MLB.
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Eovaldi in the 11th round of the 2008 MLB Draft. His draft stock had fallen because of his first Tommy John surgery. Eovaldi signed with the Dodgers, receiving a $250,000 signing bonus, forgoing his commitment to Texas A&M. He made his way through the Dodgers' farm system, pitching for the Gulf Coast Dodgers of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2008 and the Great Lakes Loons of the Class A Midwest League in 2009. In 2010, with the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino of the Class A-Advanced California League, Eovaldi was selected to the mid-season California League all-star team. Eovaldi was promoted to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League in 2011 and was selected to the mid-season all-star game. He had a 6–5 win–loss record with a 2.62 earned run average (ERA) for the Lookouts, where he started 19 games. He was also selected to the post-season All-Star team.
In the 2018 playoffs, Eovaldi pitched seven innings in Game 3 of the Division Series against the New York Yankees, which the Red Sox won 16–1, giving the Yankees their most lopsided loss in postseason history. In Game 3 of the League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, Eovaldi pitched six innings, allowing just two runs, as the Red Sox won 8–2. Eovaldi also pitched 1 1⁄3 innings of relief in Game 5 as Boston clinched the series win.
Eovaldi was Boston's 2021 Opening Day starter for the second year in a row. On July 4, he was named to the American League roster for the MLB All-Star Game. He finished the 2021 season with an 11–9 record, a 3.75 ERA, and 195 strikeouts in 182+1⁄3 innings. He gave up the fewest walks per 9 innings of any major league pitcher, at 1.73.
He was the winning pitcher in the AL Wild Card Game, striking out eight batters and giving up four hits and one run in 5+1⁄3 innings over the New York Yankees.
On December 27, 2022, Eovaldi signed a two-year contract, with a third year vesting player option, with the Texas Rangers worth $34 million guaranteed. Eovaldi started Games 1 and 5 of the 2023 World Series, earning the win in the decisive game. The Rangers would go on to win game 5 and the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Eovaldi was the ace of the Rangers starting pitching rotation during the 2023 postseason, winning 5 of his 6 starts with a no decision in game 1 of the World Series. This tied an MLB record for the most wins by a pitcher in a single postseason; the only other pitchers to do it are Randy Johnson in 2001, Francisco Rodríguez in 2002, and Stephen Strasburg in 2019.