Nathan Eovaldi RHP
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.27
117th
WHIP
1.21
81st
K/9
8.98
80th
BB/9
2.10
31st
P-Score57i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.53
166th
OPS/R
–
IP
141.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.38
FinalFinal lineupsAL West / AL Central
Texas Rangers 6, Minnesota Twins 2
Final Score and Game Recap
Final score, pitching lines and standings context.
4:10 PM ET · Target FieldGame-day snapshot Sep 28, 2:00 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 29, 5:00 AM ET
Pitching recap
| Pitcher | Team | Role | IP | H | ER | BB | K | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Eovaldi | TEX | Starter | 4.1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 71 |
| Robert Garcia | TEX | ReliefWin | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Bailey Ober | MIN | StarterLoss | 5.0 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 86 |
Scoring by inning
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Rangers | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 0 |
 Minnesota Twins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
Top hitters
Danny Jansen2-for-4 · 1 HR · 2 RBI
Jake Burger1-for-5 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Evan Carter2-for-4 · 1 RBI · 1 R
Alejandro Osuna2-for-3 · 1 RBI · 1 R
Brandon Nimmo1-for-5 · 1 RBI
Matchup at a glance
PitcherStat calculationPregame contextStarting pitchers
Bailey Ober RHP
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.21
136th
WHIP
1.26
110th
K/9
6.50
188th
BB/9
2.57
55th
P-Score47i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.36
158th
OPS/R
–
IP
126.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.00
Rangers at Twins: Texas Has Yet to Find an Answer for Minnesota
Four meetings. Four Minnesota wins.
The Rangers came to Target Field needing victories and instead opened the series with their worst result yet against the Twins, a 10-2 loss that dropped Texas to 79-81.
The Wild Card gap is now four games.
Nathan Eovaldi gets the next chance to change the direction of the weekend. His 4.27 ERA is almost identical to Bailey Ober’s 4.21, but the rest of Eovaldi’s line is stronger. He has a 4.22 FIP, 1.21 WHIP and 9.0 strikeouts per nine across 141.1 innings.
Ober has thrown 126 innings with a 4.52 FIP and 1.26 WHIP. His strikeout rate is much lower at 6.5 per nine.
Minnesota has not needed the better pitching line to control this matchup.
The Twins have scored more consistently over the season, averaging 4.57 runs per game to Texas’ 4.14. They are also 41-38 at Target Field, while the Rangers have struggled to a 34-45 road record.
And now Minnesota has won three straight overall.
Texas still has enough pitching to make the second game uncomfortable. Eovaldi limits walks, misses more bats than Ober and has produced quality starts in half of his outings.
What the Rangers have not done is turn any of those advantages into a win against Minnesota.
The Twins swept the first three meetings. Friday made it four.
With Texas four games from the listed Wild Card position and only a few games remaining, the season series has stopped being an odd statistical footnote.
It has become part of the problem the Rangers are running out of time to solve.
How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix
Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.
Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand
Lineup strength vs today's starter
Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.
TEX.700
−21 ptsOPS edge
MIN
.721
Slight edge: MIN
Lineups
Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Team comparison
TEX·MINAVG.242 19th.245 13th
OPS.713 20th.720 11th
Home runs183 15th187 12th
Runs673 25th739 9th
OBP.317 15th.317 14th
SLG.396 23rd.403 10th
TEX·MIN1stMLB rank30th
TEXMIN
TEXMIN
TEXMIN
TEXMIN
TEX·MIN1stMLB rank30th
no league rank
no league rank
TEXMIN
TEX·MIN+30025th
Run differential
+38413th
80–82 Record77–85
5–5 Last 106–4
Last 10 games
L
W
L
L
L
W
W
L
W
W
W
W
W
L
W
L
W
L
W
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
3—3
Frequently asked
Who is starting for the Rangers?+
Nathan Eovaldi (4.27 ERA, 11–10) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Twins?+
Bailey Ober (4.21 ERA, 7–6) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
4:10 PM ET at Target Field.
Where is the game being played?+
Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Rangers and Twins performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Twins 3–3 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Nathan Eovaldi is at 57; Bailey Ober is at 47. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.