Nathan Eovaldi has the New York Yankees' number—even if no one else in baseball seems to right now. For the second time in just eight days, the veteran right-hander completely shut down Aaron Judge and the Bronx Bombers, leading the Texas Rangers to a commanding 6-1 victory.

Eovaldi pitched eight masterful innings, striking out a season-best eight batters without issuing a single walk. He threw 72 of his 101 pitches for strikes and allowed just three hits. What made this performance even more impressive? He did it against a Yankees lineup that had been absolutely scorching—New York had scored 46 runs while going 5-0 in their previous five games against the Orioles and Rangers.

"That's the tough part. We don't really do this very often, where we have to face that same team back-to-back starts," Eovaldi said after the game. "Fortunately for me, the last time it was a good one. I threw a lot of splitters and cutters. Today, with the curveball being as effective as it was, it allowed me to rely on that pitch a little bit more and keep doing what was working."

That curveball was a major weapon. Eovaldi threw 31 of them—his most in a game since 2019 with Boston, according to manager Skip Schumaker. "The last two outings with Evo have been fantastic. Today was exactly what we needed against a really good lineup," Schumaker said. "I thought there was a chance he'd go the distance, but I wasn't going to push him with a five-run lead."

It's a remarkable run for the 36-year-old, two-time All-Star who actually pitched for the Yankees from 2015-16. He followed up a seven-inning, four-hit gem in a 3-0 win over New York on April 29 with this even more dominant showing. And he did it all without facing injured sluggers Ben Rice and Giancarlo Stanton.

Catcher Kyle Higashioka, who spent seven seasons with the Yankees from 2017-23, summed it up perfectly: "He was fooling 'em all night. He just uses all his pitches to keep people guessing, forcing them to commit hard or soft. He's always a tough at-bat and he really knows how to pitch. It's no surprise to me he shut 'em down twice."

Each of Eovaldi's brilliant outings snapped a three-game losing streak for Texas—proving that sometimes, the best way to stop a hot lineup is with an even hotter arm on the mound.