Championship skippers continue clash as Rangers face Reds

Cincinnati’s Terry Francona and Texas’ Bruce Bochy continue their managerial rivalry Tuesday in the second game of a three-game set as the Reds host the Rangers.

The two veteran skippers have a combined six World Series titles. The last time two managers faced off in a regular-season series with six or more titles came in 2010 when Joe Torre and his four titles squared off against Francona’s Boston Red Sox.

It also happened that season when Torre’s New York Yankees faced off against Tony La Russa’s St. Louis Cardinals.

Now Francona, who won two championships in Boston, and Bochy, who won three with the San Francisco Giants and another with Texas, will square off.

With a 14-3 Cincinnati win on Monday in the series opener, Bochy’s lead in the all-time series is down to 30-28. The two have combined for 20 playoff appearances but have never managed against each other in the postseason.

“He is so much of what’s good in our game,” Francona said before the Monday game. “I don’t need to compare (managerial styles). He’s one of a kind.”

Bochy (2,174 wins) and Francona (1,952) are the top two active managers in wins, with San Francisco’s Bob Melvin a distant third at 1,600.

Francona will hope for more offensive fireworks from Elly De La Cruz on Tuesday. The Cincinnati shortstop switched to the “torpedo” bat for the Monday game, and it resulted in two home runs, a double and a 4-for-5 night with a career-high seven RBIs.

“It felt good, really good,” De La Cruz said of the unique taper that allows for more weight closer to the handle of the bat. “I just wanted to know if it felt good, and it did.”

De La Cruz spoke to teammate and former New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino about the bat and decided to try it in a game after using it in batting practice. The Yankees are the team getting the most attention for their use of torpedo bats.

Bochy and Rangers will send ace Nathan Eovaldi (0-0, 3.00 ERA) to the mound looking to even the series. The right-hander threw six innings in the season opener on Thursday against the Boston Red Sox, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out nine and walking none in a no-decision.

Eovaldi is 1-0 with a 1.67 ERA in four career starts against Cincinnati.

The Reds will counter with right-hander Carson Spiers, making his 2025 season debut. Spiers was 5-7 with a 5.46 ERA in 22 appearances (10 starts) over three stints with Cincinnati last season.

Spiers, who went 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in four spring training appearances with the Reds, will be making his first career start against Texas.

Before arriving in Cincinnati, the Rangers won three of their first four games at home, despite scoring just 13 runs in the series against the Red Sox. With the Monday loss to the Reds, the Rangers have scored four runs or fewer in all five games. While the offense struggled, the back end of the bullpen was a bright spot in the opening series, then wasn’t needed on Monday.

On Sunday, Luke Jackson earned his second save in three days, striking out Alex Bregman with runners on first and second to end a 3-2 win. Jackson bounced back from taking the loss in the opener.

“I thought he stepped into that closer role really well,” Texas catcher Kyle Higashioka said. “I mean, obviously a rough first night, but the last couple appearances have been really, really good, so probably the hardest role in baseball for a reliever, and he’s stepping up big time for us.”

–Field Level Media