First pitch is 6:45 PM CT at Busch Stadium, and the Rangers walk in with a 5-game winning streak after stealing the opener 2-1 behind Jacob deGrom's 100th career win. Eovaldi (5-6, 3.93) gets the ball for the road team against Dustin May (3-6, 4.57), with Pinnacle treating this as a coin flip — Texas -107, St. Louis -103, total sitting at 7.5.
May's record is misleading. His last time out he went 7 innings against Milwaukee and gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits with 9 strikeouts and zero walks — and took the loss anyway. Eovaldi's last start was also 7 innings, but the line was uglier: 5 earned to Houston in a loss. Cardinals hitters have historically done nothing against him (per the SI series preview, no current St. Louis bat has a hit off him), while Joc Pederson is reportedly 1.167 OPS lifetime vs. May. Pick your poison.
The Rangers swept the Royals at home and then flew to Missouri and punched St. Louis in the mouth on Sunday night. That's a 29-31 team that finally looks like the roster Texas thought it had in March — and they're doing it without their best hitter.
- Day-To-DaySebastian Walcott SS — Rangers GM Ross Fenstermaker said Tuesday that Walcott could be ready for game action in August, "if all things according to plan" in his rehab from the internal brace procedure he underwent on his right elbow, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
- 10-Day-ILCorey Seager SS — Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Sunday that Seager (back) is expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment during the upcoming week, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
- 10-Day-ILWyatt Langford LF — Langford (forearm) served as the designated hitter and went 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored in a rehab game for Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday.
- 10-Day-ILJosh Smith 2B — Smith (illness) rejoined his teammates at Globe Life Field on Thursday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILChris Martin RP — The Rangers placed Martin on the 15-day injured list Monday with a right shoulder impingement.
- bereavementSam Haggerty LF — Haggerty replaced Brandon Nimmo (ankle) in Tuesday's 7-4 win over Arizona. He went hitless in his lone plate appearance.
- 15-Day-ILCole Winn RP — Winn (0-1) took the loss against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, allowing three runs on two hits while striking out one over one-third of an inning.
- 60-Day-ILRobert Garcia RP — The Rangers transferred Garcia (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list Monday.
- Day-To-DayPacky Naughton RP — Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DaySem Robberse SP — Robberse (elbow) signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Monday, which includes an invitation to spring training, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DayVictor Santos RP — The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayIxan Henderson SP — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson RP — The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.
- 10-Day-ILNathan Church LF — Church (shoulder) received clearance from a specialist Tuesday to start a plyometric and strengthening program, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
- 10-Day-ILRamon Urias 3B — Urias' (elbow) resumption of a throwing program is considered imminent, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
- 60-Day-ILLars Nootbaar LF — Nootbaar (heels) "appears targeted" to be activated from the 60-day injured list before the start of Friday's series against the Reds, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Corey Seager is reportedly headed for a minor-league rehab assignment this week, and Wyatt Langford already DH'd in a rehab game at Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday. Reinforcements are close. The bullpen is the bigger problem — Chris Martin just hit the 15-day IL with shoulder impingement and Robert Garcia got moved to the 60-day. If this thing goes deep, Skip Schumaker is working with a thinner pen than he'd like.
St. Louis isn't a pushover at 31-27 and they've been competitive in every loss in this stretch — the Cubs blowout aside. But the lineup is a little light without Lars Nootbaar (60-day IL, targeted to return Friday vs. Cincinnati per the Belleville News-Democrat) and Ramon Urias. If May pitches the way he did in Milwaukee and the Cardinals scratch out 3, that's probably enough. If he doesn't, this Rangers offense is finally swinging it.