Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers

Gary Clark Jr.’s cover of the Beatles' song “Come Together” echoed over the speakers at Globe Life Field in the sixth inning on Wednesday night as the crowd of 26,364 fans rose with anticipation. Nathan Eovaldi’s warm-up song isn’t typically played mid-game. That’s obvious for the Rangers’ co-ace, who has been the anchor of the rotation since joining the club in 2023.  But as Eovaldi continues to work back from an elbow injury that kept him sidelined for five weeks, and a postseason push at hand, he’s now made two relief appearances since his activation on Sept. 12.  “I heard his song as I was coming up the steps, and I was like, ‘Oh shoot, here we go,’” said Rangers third baseman Josh Jung. When Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said it was all hands on deck for this final 12-game stretch of the season, he wasn’t kidding. That meant using Eovaldi for four innings to keep Texas neck and neck with the Red Sox on Wednesday night. The Rangers finally took their first lead of the evening with a three-run seventh, propelling the club to a 7-3 win over the Red Sox to secure a series victory and get back to .500 (76-76). “I heard the crowd when he came in from the bullpen; that was pretty exciting,” Schumaker said. “I think it all gave us a boost of energy as well in a big series. What he provided was enormous.” It was Eovaldi’s third career relief win, and his first since Aug. 14, 2019, against the Guardians as a member of the Red Sox. He retired the final 11 batters he faced, becoming the first Rangers pitcher to earn the win and throw four or more scoreless frames to end the game since Jamey Wright on Sept. 25, 2007, against the Angels (W, GF, 4 SHO IP). “It felt almost like a closer coming into the game,” Schumaker said. “You know that type of feeling in the ninth inning when the music goes on, and the lights go out, that type of feeling. But it was early in the game, you're just not used to feeling it. But I felt it.”