Washington Nationals at Texas Rangers

Cal Quantrill keeps ending up back in the Rangers’ rotation. And maybe that’s a good thing. Quantrill, who had a brief one-game stint back in the bullpen on Aug. 8 against the Orioles at home, returned to the rotation when Nathan Eovaldi was placed on the injured list on Aug. 10. Tuesday was his second start since returning to the rotation. And he logged a win with seven scoreless innings against one of MLB’s highest-scoring offenses, as he carried the Rangers to a 5-0 win over the Nationals to open a three-game set at Globe Life Field. It was Quantrill’s longest scoreless outing in over two years, when he threw 7 2/3 on May 3, 2024 against the Pirates as a member of the Rockies. “Honestly, he’s been phenomenal,” said shortstop Corey Seager, who went 2-for-4 in the win. “It’s really not easy to do, either. He competed for a job, made it as a long guy, and then to build up as a starter, making starts in spots that we need to win, and he’s done an absolutely phenomenal job. That was a huge start for us today.” Quantrill has sneakily become one of the Rangers’ more valuable pitchers this season, even though some numbers don’t fully illustrate it. And to truly tell the story of Quantrill’s 2026, you have to look back to the World Baseball Classic, when he missed weeks of camp to pitch for Team Canada. The Rangers staff liked him, and knew he had a good shot to break camp with the big league club, but they felt they didn’t get enough time with him in Surprise to fully evaluate him when the time came.