The Arizona Diamondbacks opened a three-game series against the Texas Rangers on Monday night in Arlington, Texas, with first pitch from Globe Life Field scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET. Arizona, 19-20, and Texas, 19-21, came in separated by only one game in the standings.
The Diamondbacks also carried a 2025 season-series edge, having beaten the Rangers 4-2. But they arrived having lost seven of their last 10 games, even after closing their homestand with back-to-back wins over the New York Mets and finishing 3-3 at home with a 5-1 victory Sunday. Eduardo Rodriguez improved to 4-0 in that game after throwing 8 1/3 innings, and Ryan Waldschmidt had two hits and his first three career RBIs.
Texas, by contrast, entered on a two-game winning streak after consecutive shutouts of the Chicago Cubs, 6-0 on Saturday and 3-0 on Sunday. Jacob deGrom earned his third win with seven scoreless innings in the opener, and Jacob Latz picked up his fourth save with two perfect innings a day later. Evan Carter also hit a two-run homer Saturday. The Rangers were 5-8 in their last 13 games, though they had not allowed a run in their last two and were 6-6 in their last 12 home games, leaving them 9-9 overall at home.
Michael Soroka was scheduled to start for Arizona against Nathan Eovaldi. Soroka entered at 4-2 with a 4.14 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 10.2 K/9 over 37 innings, while Eovaldi was 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9 over 47 2/3 innings. Arizona had allowed three or fewer runs in five of its last six games, and five of its last five games had gone under 8. Texas, meanwhile, had five of its last nine games finish with eight or more runs, and four of the six meetings last season reached that mark.
The matchup came down to a familiar question for both clubs: whether Arizona could turn a recent road stumble — it went 1-5 on its last trip — into traction, or whether Texas could keep building on two straight shutouts at home. The pitching setup suggested a tight game, but the numbers also left room for a swing either way if one starter missed early.
