Cruz isn't "pandering" to the evangelicals. He is a God-fearing Christian himself, so his appeal to them is sincere.
Both Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 benefited from their appeal to the evangelical vote.
I agree, pandering is too strong, I was lazy. My point is that Cruz is type-casting himself as a religious zealot, at least in the eyes of the people that he will need to vote for him to put him over (obviously not true, but it’s the impression people are getting). For better or worse, Trump doesn’t give off that impression.