ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — 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. He struck out seven but walked a season-high four.
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Atlanta Braves left fielder Jurickson Profar makes a leaping attempt to catch a run-scoring double by Texas Rangers' Sam Haggerty in the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 25, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford connects for a run-scoring double in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, July 25, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Texas Rangers' Adolis Garcia (53), Jonah Heim, center right, and Ezequiel Duran (20) celebrate Heim's solo home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Friday, July 25, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi throws to the Atlanta Braves in the second inning of a baseball game Friday, July 25, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
It was also Eovaldi's first start since the Rangers paid him a $100,000 All-Star Game bonus even though the 35-year-old wasn’t selected despite a 7-3 record and a 1.58 ERA. He missed his first start after the break — a matchup with AL All-Star starter Tarik Skubal and the Tigers — with back tightness.
Sam Haggerty singled leading off the first against Joey Wentz (2-2) before stealing his 10th base and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Marcus Semien for a 1-0 lead.
Jonah Heim hit his ninth home run — a two-out shot in the second for a 2-0 lead. Wyatt Langford had a two-out RBI double in the fourth and Sam Haggerty doubled in a run in the fifth for a 4-0 advantage. Three singles, two walks, a hit batter and a sac fly led to four runs in the eighth.
Michael Harris II hit his eighth home run — a leadoff shot off Jacob Latz in the seventh to cut it to 4-1.
Wentz allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Corey Seager went 0 for 3 but walked twice to extend his on-base streak to 25 games for the Rangers.
Austin Riley went 0 for 4 in his first game for Atlanta since suffering an abdominal strain on July 11.
Texas had allowed two runs or fewer in a club-record-tying seven straight games until Caleb Boushley surrendered two in the ninth to end the run.
Seager is the only player to have an on-base streak of 24-plus games in each of the last three seasons.
Braves RHP Grant Holmes (4-9, 3.81) starts against Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (4-4, 5.66) on Saturday.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Atlanta Braves left fielder Jurickson Profar makes a leaping attempt to catch a run-scoring double by Texas Rangers' Sam Haggerty in the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 25, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford connects for a run-scoring double in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, July 25, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Texas Rangers' Adolis Garcia (53), Jonah Heim, center right, and Ezequiel Duran (20) celebrate Heim's solo home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Friday, July 25, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi throws to the Atlanta Braves in the second inning of a baseball game Friday, July 25, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.
Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.
She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.
The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.
On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.
Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.
The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.
American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.
For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.
Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”
Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.
Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
