CHICAGO (AP) — Corey Seager hit his 200th career homer and Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings, leading the Texas Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the lowly Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
Eovaldi (10-7) matched his season high with 10 strikeouts in his second straight win. The right-hander was working on a no-hitter before Gavin Sheets hit a leadoff single in the fifth.
“What a job he did,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Eovaldi. “You need your pitching to come through and in seven solid innings he did his thing out there.”
The White Sox (31-104) dropped their seventh consecutive game. They are 4-33 since the All-Star break, moving closer to the franchise record of 106 losses in 1970. The team also is on track to break the majors’ modern record for most losses — 120 by the 1962 New York Mets.
Kirby Yates surrendered Andrew Benintendi’s 15th homer with one out in the ninth, and then struck out Andrew Vaughn and retired Sheets on a grounder to second for his 25th save in 26 tries.
The Rangers have won three straight and five of seven overall. They finished a sweep of the season series against the White Sox.
Chicago rookie Nick Nastrini (0-6) retired his first 10 batters before Seager connected for his 30th homer of the season, a solo shot deep into the right-field patio in the fourth. A seated Seager also made a strong throw to first on Nicky Lopez’s grounder to shortstop in the eighth, stranding two runners.
“It’s just impressive,” Eovaldi said of Seager, who has 10 homers in August. “We’re so grateful just to be able to watch him play every day and everything that he does on a day-in, day-out basis.”
According to the Rangers, Seager became the first exclusively left-handed-hitting shortstop in MLB history to reach 200 home runs. He hit 33 homers in each of his first two years with Texas after agreeing to a $325 million, 10-year contract in free agency in 2021.
He was given the milestone ball, but he didn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to find a spot for it.
“Just putting good swings on the ball and trying to put myself in good positions,” he said.
Wyatt Langford extended the lead with an RBI single off Perlander Berroa in the seventh.
Nastrini, who was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte for his first major league start since June 8, pitched six innings of three-hit ball.
“I had some misses, but I was able to get it in the zone for the most part,” he said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: RHP Jacob deGrom (elbow surgery) will make his third rehab start for Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Return home to face Oakland on Friday night. RHP Jon Gray (5-5, 4.32 ERA) goes against A’s LHP JP Sears (10-9, 4.35 ERA).
White Sox: Rookie RHP Jonathan Cannon (2-8, 4.57 ERA) faces Mets RHP Tylor McGill (2-5, 5.17 ERA) on Friday night in the opener of a three-game set.
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