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MLB on Sling TV: Yankees at Rangers on ESPN and regional action on Fox Sports Networks

Apr 25, 2016 by Scott Ross

All times Eastern.

New York Yankees (Eovaldi 0-2, 6.11) at Texas Rangers (Hamels 3-0, 2.52), 8pm ET on ESPN
Nathan Eovaldi enjoyed a breakout season of sorts in 2015, his first in the American League, going 14-3 despite an ERA of 4.20. This year he has, by some measures, been far better, with his K/9 rate up from 7.1 per 9 to 11.2, and his walk rate nearly cut in half, down to 1.5 per 9 – however, he’s already given 4 homers in just 17 ⅔ innings, triple his rate from last year. The homers have been painful, leading to 7 of the 9 runs he surrendered in his first two starts. In his most recent start he kept the ball in the yard, striking out 7 over 6 innings, while giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk. He took the loss just the same, but lowered his ERA from 6.94 to 6.11.

Cole Hamels came over to Texas as part of a deadline deal to help the Rangers’ 2015 playoff push, a trade that continues to pay dividends, even if Hamels has largely been getting it done with smoke and mirrors: Where Eovaldi’s parlayed a 7.33 K/BB ratio into a 6.11 ERA, Hamels has somehow spun a 2.03 K/BB ratio into a 2.52 ERA. Despite the high walk rate of 4 per 9, and a home run rate (4 in 25 innings) well above his career norm, he’s kept his ERA down thanks to a double play rate of 21% – nearly twice his career average, and a BABIP of just .262, 27 points off his career average. Regardless, the Rangers have yet to lose one of his starts, the most recent being a 2-1 victory over the Astros, in which Hamels went 6 ⅔, giving up just 5 hits and 3 walks (all HBPs) – the only damage coming on a solo home run – while striking out 7.

The Yankees come into the game as the cellar dwellers of the AL East at 7-10, after having lost on Sunday 8-1 to Tampa, as the Rays’ Steven Souza Jr. celebrated his 27th birthday by hitting a pair of home runs. The Rangers, meanwhile, are tied with Oakland atop the AL West at 10-9, following a 3-game sweep at the hands of the White Sox, who held Texas to just 4 runs over the weekend.

Watch the New York Yankees at the Texas Rangers at 8pm ET Monday on ESPN by subscribing to the Best of Live TV package..

And here’s the action from the FOX Sports regional networks across the land…

Baltimore Orioles (Gausman 0-0, 0.00) at Tampa Bay Rays (Archer 0-4, 7.32), 7:10pm ET on Fox Sports Sun

Boston Red Sox (Porcello 3-0, 4.66) at Atlanta Braves (Teheran 0-2, 5.64), 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports South

Cincinnati Reds (Iglesias 1-1, 3.09) at New York Mets (Syndergaard 2-0, 0.90), 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati

Oakland Athletics (Graveman 1-1, 2.04) at Detroit Tigers (Zimmerman 3-0, 0.00), 7:10pm ET on FOX Sports Detroit

Cleveland Indians (Salazar 2-1, 1.47) at Minnesota Twins (Milone 0-1, 5.87), 8:10pm ET on FOX Sports North & SportsTime Ohio

St. Louis Cardinals (Garcia 1-1, 2.70) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Greinke 1-2, 5.25), 9:40pm ET on FOX Sports Arizona & FOX Sports Midwest

Kansas City Royals (Kennedy 2-1, 1.35) at Los Angeles Angels (Richards 0-3, 3.00), 10:05pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City & FOX Sports West

Miami Marlins (Chen 0-1, 4.91) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Stripling 0-0, 2.65), 10:10pm ET on FOX Sports Florida

San Diego Padres (Pomeranz 2-1, 2.04) at San Francisco Giants (Bumgarner 1-2, 3.91), 10:15pm ET on FOX Sports San Diego

Watch baseball on FOX and FOX Sports Regional Networks by subscribing to the Best of Live TV Beta Multi-Stream package..

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