How Nathan Eovaldi Feels Getting Opening Day Start Vs. Red Sox

Nathan Eovaldi will take the mound first for the Texas Rangers against the Boston Red Sox on March 27 at Globe Life Field.

The Rangers officially named Eovaldi the Opening Day starter on Sunday, which was the initial assumption. Texas manager Bruce Bochy previously noted that fellow right-hander Jacob deGrom — for workload management purposes — would start at the backend of the rotation, ruling him out. Eovaldi, meanwhile, gets the nod for the second consecutive season and doesn’t take the opportunity for granted.

“It’s a huge honor to be able to take the ball in the first game of the season, to signify that baseball is back,” Eovaldi said, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. “It’s what we work for in the entire offseason, spring training, leading up to it and everything. And to me, it’s about being healthy, too. I want to be able to go out there and make as many starts as I can and go as long into deep into the games.”

Eovaldi will go up against his former club in the Red Sox, seven years after helping the franchise capture its ninth World Series title. The 35-year-old cemented his legacy in Boston as one of the team’s all-time postseason gamers, best remembered for throwing six innings of relief in a 17-inning Fall Classic battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers — the longest game in World Series history.

Now a member of the Rangers for the third straight season, Eovaldi is picking up where he left off. He’ll end the organization’s 16-year-long streak of pitching a different starter for each Opening Day since 2009 — Kevin Millwood is the last Texas pitcher to take the mound on Opening Day consecutive times, doing so four times in a row from 2006 to 2009. The Rangers informed Eovaldi it was the likeliest outcome after he finalized a three-year, $75 million contract extension with the team in the offseason.

Boston will throw its new-look lineup at Eovaldi in less than two weeks, featuring two-time All-Star Alex Bregman. There’s also the potential for one of the organization’s long-awaited prospects to crack the Opening Day roster, considering the open lane to claim the role as Boston’s starting second baseman.

Eovaldi pitched six innings and allowed two earned runs off four hits while striking out three hitters to get the Rangers off to a solid start on Opening Day last season against the Chicago Cubs.

The mindset isn’t going to change, as Eovaldi aims to do so again.

“I try to treat every game as if it could be my last,” Eovaldi said. “Like there’s a lot of meaning behind it. I take a lot of pride in going out there and especially to have that first one, it means a lot to me. You want to be able to start the season out on a high note. I want to go out there and set the tone. It doesn’t matter who I’m facing or what team it is. I want to go out there and give it my best.”

Eovaldi went 12-8 with a 3.80 ERA last season across 29 starts, all while leading the Rangers in innings pitched (170 2/3) and strikeouts (166).