The Texas Rangers best pitcher this season put a scare through the fanbase by exiting his latest outing before the third inning. The Rangers can ill afford to lose a starter who set a franchise record despite his shortest stint in almost two years.

Turns out, the initial prognosis is promising for Nathan Eovaldi. The veteran right-hander is dealing with right triceps fatigue, according to the club, and his removal after two innings against the Tuesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays was out of precaution.

Nathan Eovaldi Injury Update After Leaving Toronto Start Early

The Rangers don’t expect Eovaldi, who’s an early contender for the Cy Young Award and perhaps the team’s MVP this season, to miss any significant time.

“It’s been going on for the last few games or so, but we’ve been able to manage it,” Eovaldi said after the game, according to MLB.com. “Today just felt a lot tighter. … [Pitching coach Mike Maddux] does a great job of paying attention to what we’re doing, what we got going on, and just being honest with everybody. Ultimately, he kind of made that decision for me. It’s a good thing for us. We got a lot of season left, and we want to make sure that we stay healthy.”

He’s expected to make his next start on Tuesday at the Tampa Bay Rays, but the Rangers will continue to monitor the situation. Eovaldi last went on the injured list for an arm issue in 2023, when he missed more than a month with a forearm strain.

He gave up two hits and a walk against the Jays, striking out two on 39 pitchers. It was the shortest start since Sept. 5, 2023, when he lasted just 1.1 innings and allowed four runs against the Houston Astros.

Eovaldi yielded leadoff doubles in both frames against the Jays, but held Toronto hitless in six at-bats with runners in scoring position. He threw 22 of his 39 offerings for strikes (56.4%), his lowest strike percentage since Sept. 14, 2023 at Toronto (54.8%, 40/73), per TruMedia.

Eovaldi Sets New Consecutive Starts Franchise Record

In a strange twist, Eovaldi’s short outing was also the seventh consecutive start of allowing one-or-fewer runs, which is the longest such streak in Washington Senators/Texas franchise history. The previous co-record holders are Jon Gray and Alexi Ogando.

The Rangers beat Toronto 2-0, as five relievers combined to complete the shutout.

“It’s awesome that they were able to pick me up today,” Eovaldi said, according to MLB.com. “I don’t like coming out of the game early. I don’t like coming out before the fifth, really. They were able to come in and do the job. It was a huge one for us.”