The Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers meet Monday night in Arlington to open a three-game series between two teams separated by a single game in the standings. First pitch at Globe Life Field is set for 8:05 p.m. ET.
Arizona enters at 19-20 after finishing its homestand 3-3 with a 5-1 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday. Texas is 19-21 after back-to-back shutouts of the Chicago Cubs, winning 6-0 on Saturday and 3-0 on Sunday. The Diamondbacks also took the 2025 season series 4-2, so the opener arrives with a little recent history attached.
Sunday gave both clubs a reason to feel better about themselves. Eduardo Rodriguez improved to 4-0 for Arizona after throwing 8 1/3 innings and allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts, while Ryan Waldschmidt had 2 hits and drove in the first 3 RBIs of his career. For Texas, Jacob deGrom earned his third win with 7 innings of 3-hit, scoreless ball and 10 strikeouts, and Jacob Latz finished it off with his fourth save by working 2 perfect innings. Evan Carter added a 2-run home run, his fifth of the season.
The matchup also puts two starters with very different profiles on the mound. Michael Soroka is 4-2 with a 4.14 ERA and will make his eighth start for Arizona, while Nathan Eovaldi is 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA and will make his ninth start for Texas. Soroka has a 1.43 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 10.2 K/9 in 37 innings. Eovaldi has a 1.18 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9 in 47 2/3 innings.
The records look close, but the recent form shows two different kinds of momentum. Arizona had lost 7 of its last 10 games before winning its final two against the Mets, and it went 1-5 on its last road trip. The Diamondbacks have allowed 3 or fewer runs in 5 of their last 6 games, and 19 of their 25 ATS wins have been outright victories. Texas, meanwhile, has gone 6-6 in its last 12 home games and is 9-9 at home overall. The Rangers have not allowed a run in their last 2 games, but they are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games when favored.
Totals tell a similar split. The Diamondbacks have had 5 straight games under 8, while five of the Rangers' last nine games have gone to 8 or more. Four of the six meetings between the teams last season reached at least 8 runs, and five of Eovaldi's eight starts and four of Soroka's seven starts have also finished with 8 or more total runs. That gives Monday's opener a familiar edge: two clubs with almost the same record, but one carrying an early-season road test and the other trying to keep a shutout streak alive at home.
