Nathan Eovaldi pitched three-hit ball over five scoreless innings in his first start since the All-Star break and the Texas Rangers beat the Atlanta Braves 8-3 on Friday night. Eovaldi (8-3) threw 53 of his 86 pitches for strikes as Texas won its fourth straight and handed Atlanta a third straight loss.

The Rangers didn’t string together any big rallies until the eighth inning but continually put runs on the scoreboard in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings. The wheels fell off in the eighth by way of an erratic Rafael Montero.

After the Rangers recorded a win over the Braves, it was led by an effective performance from Nathan Eovaldi, who spoke about his outing.

SportsLine's proven model has simulated Atlanta vs. Texas 10,000 times and released its MLB best bets for Joey Wentz vs. Nathan Eovaldi on Friday

The Rangers have the second-worst record against left-handed pitching and are dead last in OBP, slugging and OPS against lefties.

The 44-57 Atlanta Braves will spend the weekend in Arlington for a three-game set with the Texas Rangers. The series gets underway tonight at 8:05 ET. Though no starters have been confirmed, Joey Wentz, Grant Holmes, and Bryce Elder are probable.

The only hit off him in the first 11 innings was a triple by George Sisler. 1930 — The Philadelphia Athletics came up with a triple steal in the first inning and again in the fourth in a 14-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Outfielder Sam Haggerty has been activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Friday’s game against Atlanta, the Rangers announced. In a corresponding move, the Rangers are optioning Cody Freeman to Triple-A Round Rock.