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.

The Atlanta Braves play against the Texas Rangers in an MLB game tonight. Fans can watch this game for free online.

Even without his best stuff, Eovaldi shut down the Atlanta Braves as the Rangers won in his first start since July 13.

Jonah Heim homered and Sam Haggerty had an RBI double and scored a run to back a solid start by Nathan Eovaldi as the Texas Rangers stayed hot with an 8-3 win over the sputtering Atlanta Braves on Friday in the first of a three-game series in Arlington,

BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers, on a three-game home winning streak, host the Atlanta Braves. Texas is 53-50 overall and 31-20 in home games. The Rangers are 38-10 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.

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.