In the meantime, he’s singularly focused on returning to the postseason. His July performance indicates hyper awareness. His outing Wednesday actually raised his ERA for the month - to 0.59. He won his fifth consecutive decision of the month. It is the second-lowest monthly ERA for a pitcher in Rangers history with at least five starts in a month.

This is Nathan Eovaldi's favorite time of the year. “August to September,” he said. “You’re into the hunt. It’s the build-up for the postseason. We’ve been playing really good baseball.” Mostly good baseball -- notwithstanding the first two games of the Rangers’ road trip,