ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Texas Rangers suffered a bitter series loss on the road this past weekend, losing three out of three games against the division rival Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Throughout the series, the Rangers struggled to play consistently, leaving California without a single victory.
GAME 1 ANGELS 9 RANGERS 6
In the first game of the series, May 22, the Angels defeated the Rangers 9-6. Though the Rangers battled back to make the game competitive in the later innings, a late surge by the Angels halted their comeback attempt, giving Los Angeles the series lead.
The Angels immediately made their presence felt in the first inning with four runs, including two home runs (one solo, one two-run), building a 4-0 advantage. After a scoreless second inning, the Angels added two runs in the third inning, increasing their lead to 6-0.
In the fourth inning, the Rangers got on the board when Brandon Nimmo launched a solo home run, trimming the deficit to 6-1. Later in the inning, Jake Burger and Justin Foscue scored on a two-RBI triple by Evan Carter, reducing the deficit to 6-3.
Following a scoreless fifth inning, the Rangers trimmed the Angels’ lead to 6-4 in the sixth inning, when Burger scored on an RBI single by Foscue.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Rangers cut the deficit to 6-5 when Andrew McCutchen scored on an RBI double by Nimmo. In the same sequence, the Rangers almost tied the score, but Josh Jung was tagged out advancing to home plate, ending Texas’ turn. The Angels extended their lead to 7-5 with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The eighth inning saw the Angels raise their lead to 9-5 with a pair of runs. Though the Rangers scored again in the ninth inning on a solo home run by Danny Jansen, it wasn’t enough for a comeback, as the Angels polished off a 9-6 victory.
As a team, the Rangers batted 11 for 35 (.214) from the plate. Foscue, Nimmo and Alejandro Osuna recorded two hits each, while Burger, Carter, Jansen, Jung and Joc Pederson added one hit each.
Burger took top scoring honors with two runs, while Foscue, Jansen, McCutchen and Nimmo scored one run each.
Jacob deGrom suffered the loss on the mound. Across three innings, he gave up six hits, six earned runs and three walks, and struck out two batters.
Cal Quantrill pitched the next three innings in relief, allowing just three hits and one walk.
Jalen Beeks pitched the seventh inning, conceding one hit and one earned run.
Chris Martin, who was activated off of the 15-injured list after missing the last 30 games due to a right shoulder impingement, pitched the eighth inning, conceding three hits and two earned runs.
GAME 2 ANGELS 5 RANGERS 2
For the second game of the series, May 23, the Rangers suffered a 5-2 loss. Despite playing a close game, the Rangers couldn’t make the plays needed to win, and the Angels clinched a series win.
The Angels again took the lead right away with a two-run home run in the first inning, building a 2-0 advantage. In the second inning, the Rangers got on the board when Osuna scored on a sacrifice fly ball by Ezequiel Duran, trimming the deficit to 2-1.
The next two innings didn’t feature any scoring. In the fifth inning, the Angels scored another run, extending their lead to 3-1.
Following a scoreless sixth inning, the Rangers trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the seventh inning when Kyle Higashioka launched a solo home run. The Angels responded with two runs in the eighth inning, raising their lead to 5-2.
The Rangers weren’t able to score again in the ninth inning. With that, the Angels capped off a 5-2 victory and clinched the series win.
As a team, the Rangers batted eight for 34 (.235) from the plate. Osuna led the way with a 3-for-3 game, while Duran, Michael Helman, Higashioka, Nimmo and Pederson added one hit each.
Higashioka and Pederson scored one run each.
Nathan Eovaldi suffered the loss on the mound. Across seven innings, he struck out six batters, but also conceded five hits, three earned runs and two walks.
Cole Winn pitched ⅓ of an inning in relief, allowing two hits and two earned runs.
Tyler Alexander pitched ⅔ of an inning, allowing one hit and one walk.
GAME 3 ANGELS 2 RANGERS 1
In the third and final game of the series, May 24, the Angels completed the series sweep with a 2-1 victory. In a tightly-contested game, a botched double play in the bottom of the ninth brought home the walk-off run for the Angels, who came out on top.
After the first inning didn’t see any scoring, the Rangers took the lead in the second inning on a solo home run by Burger, building a 1-0 advantage. The Angels scored a run of their own in the third inning, tying the score at 1-1.
The next five innings saw both defenses control the game. The Rangers had a chance to take the lead again in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded, but failed to bring home a run.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Angels won the game after a botched double play by the Rangers, winning 2-1 and completing the series sweep.
As a team, the Rangers batted just three for 30 (.100) from the plate. Burger, Foscue and Osuna recorded one hit each, with Burger scoring the Rangers’ only run.
Mackenzie Gore started the game on the mound. Across six innings, he struck out seven batters and allowed just two walks, one hit and one earned run.
Jakob Junis pitched the next two innings, striking out four batters and allowing just two hits.
Gavin Collyer suffered the loss in the ninth inning, conceding the game-deciding run, while also striking out one batter and allowing one hit.
UP NEXT
With these losses, the Rangers dropped to 24-28 on the season.
They resumed action Monday, welcoming another AL West rival, the Houston Astros to Globe Life Field for a four-game divisional series.