ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers opened their nine-game homestand in impressive fashion Friday night, pounding out a season-high 17 hits in a 10-4 win over the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Field.
Texas (45-43) matched its highest run total of the season while continuing one of its strongest stretches of the year. The Rangers have won seven of their last eight games and own a 20-12 record since May 29, the best mark in the American League during that span.
The Rangers wasted little time putting pressure on Detroit starter Framber Valdez. Texas scored in the opening inning before adding three more runs in the second, highlighted by Elias Díaz’s solo home run to left-center field. Díaz has now homered in back-to-back games for the first time since the 2023 season.
Nathan Eovaldi (9-7) earned the victory despite a challenging fifth inning. The veteran right-hander dominated early, retiring the first nine hitters he faced while striking out seven during that stretch. He finished with nine strikeouts over five innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs and one walk. The nine strikeouts matched his season high for the third consecutive outing and pulled him into a tie for the American League lead in wins.
Detroit finally broke through in the fifth when Colt Keith led off with a solo home run before Hao-Yu Lee followed later in the inning with a two-run blast, trimming Texas’ lead to 5-3. The Rangers’ bullpen responded by limiting further damage, with Tyler Alexander and Peyton Gray helping strand inherited runners before the relief corps secured the victory.
Texas quickly regained control with another offensive surge.
Josh Smith delivered one of the night’s biggest moments, launching the first pinch-hit home run of his Major League career in the sixth inning. He later added an RBI infield single as part of a two-RBI performance.
Nicky Lopez continued his torrid stretch at the plate, collecting three hits to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Since joining the Rangers in late May, Lopez has emerged as one of the club’s most consistent hitters, batting .355 while recording nine multi-hit games.
Josh Jung reached safely in each of his first three plate appearances, driving in two runs with a bases-loaded walk and an RBI double. His 21st double of the season ranks among the American League leaders, while his batting average climbed to .298.
Ezequiel Durán also drove in two runs, contributing an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. The versatile infielder has caught fire recently, batting over .400 across his last seven games while continuing to provide timely production in the middle of the lineup.
Alejandro Osuna added three hits and an RBI, while Evan Carter capped the scoring with a towering 422-foot home run in the eighth inning, the longest homer of his Major League career.
Detroit’s Framber Valdez (4-6) was charged with the loss after allowing five earned runs on nine hits across five innings. He walked two and struck out one as the Rangers consistently put runners on base throughout his outing.
The Tigers had entered the series riding a three-game winning streak after sweeping the New York Yankees, but Texas’ relentless offense proved too much to overcome. Detroit also surrendered a season-high 17 hits in the defeat.
With the victory, the Rangers improved to 29-2 this season when scoring first and tallying at least four runs, continuing a trend that has made them one of baseball’s toughest teams to beat when their offense gets rolling.
The series continues Saturday at Globe Life Field as Texas looks to build on its recent momentum and strengthen its position in the American League playoff race.
