Rangers Fall to Angels in Series Finale

(Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

May 19, 2024

Angels 4, Rangers 1

ARLINGTON, Tex. (May 19) — The Texas Rangers fell short in their bid for a series win by losing to the Los Angeles Angels, 4–1, on Sunday afternoon. The Angels used a two-run single by Kevin Pillar to secure the series win. With this home stand behind them, the Rangers will set out on a six-game road trip. Their first stop will be to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Philadelphia Phillies for three games. That series will begin on Tuesday evening with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm Eastern at Citizens Bank Park. Jon Gray (2–1, 2.08 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Rangers, and Ranger Suarez (8–0, 1.37 ERA) will get the ball for the Phillies.

The Angels, meanwhile, will head to Minute Maid Park to face the Houston Astros for three games. The opener of that series is on Monday evening with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm Central. It will be a battle of lefties as Reid Detmers (3–4, 5.19 ERA) will get the start for the Angels, and Framber Valdez (3–1, 2.95 ERA) will take the hill for the Astros.

Late Push for Angels

For the second day in a row, the Rangers and Angels traded zeros for the first three and a half innings. The Rangers broke the seal in the bottom of the fourth against Angels starter Jose Soriano. With Adolis Garcia scratched from Sunday’s lineup, the Rangers had their work cut out for them. Corey Seager answered the bell with his sixth home run of the year, a solo shot over the wall in right to give the Rangers a 1–0 lead. The Angels came to life in the top of the seventh off Rangers starter Michael Lorenzen. Willie Calhoun led the inning off with a double to center. Jo Adell followed with a walk.

After a strikeout to Matt Thaiss, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy left his seat in the dugout to bring in Jonathan Hernandez to relieve Lorenzen. Hernandez issued a free pass to Zach Neto, leaving the bases juiced. Mickey Moniak brought Calhoun home with a single to left, tying the game at one run apiece. On deck was Pillar, who was pinch-hitting for Kyren Paris. Pillar plated Adell and Neto with a single to center. Moments later, Pillar crossed the dish on a triple to center by Luis Rengifo.

What Went Right for the Angels

They didn’t have any home runs on Sunday afternoon, but the Angels did get men on base. They managed to drive in four runs to go toe-to-toe with a Rangers offense that is formidable but struggling. The Angels managed to get just enough offense to secure the win.

What Went Wrong for the Angels

The only roadblock that the Angels encountered was the solo home run by Seager in the fourth.

Unlucky Lorenzen

Lorenzen took the loss despite tossing his fourth quality start of the season, second-most among Rangers starters. The team leader is Jon Gray, who has five. Sunday marked the fourth time in ’24 for a Rangers starter to take a loss in a quality start, and it was the first instance for Lorenzen. His record for 2024 is now 2–3 with an ERA of 3.61.

After opening with six scoreless frames, he faced three batters to open the seventh, allowing two of the three to reach (2B-BB-SO), but exited with the 1–0 lead intact. Both inherited runners scored at the hand of Jonathan Hernandez. It was the fifth time this season for a Rangers starter to exit in position for a victory but not earn the win, and it is the first instance for Lorenzen. He is winless in May despite a 3.20 ERA over four starts with a .207 opp. BA this month.

Quality Start for Soriano

Soriano earned the win for the Angels after notching his third quality start of the season. His line on the afternoon was 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR. Soriano’s last quality start was on May 3 against the Cleveland Guardians. Soriano now owns a record of 2–4 with an ERA of 3.30. He fell one shy of reaching 100 career strikeouts on Sunday, fanning five to reach 99 punchouts. After not allowing a homer in his last six starts, Soriano gave the solo shot to Seager in the fourth. He has struck out five-plus in six of eight starts this season. After tossing a scoreless inning and a third where he gave up two hits, righty Luis Garcia earned his second save of the season.

Rangers Bullpen Woes

The Rangers’ bullpen allowed both inherited runners to score Sunday. They have permitted 18 of 26 inherited runners to score in the last 10 games. Of those 10, the Rangers have lost seven of them. Despite the veteran duo of Kirby Yates (0.98 ERA) and David Robertson (2.28 ERA) thriving in high-leverage roles this season, the Rangers bullpen as a whole has a 5.08 ERA, ranked 30th in the majors.

Postgame Comments

In his postgame interview, Bochy reflected on Hernandez’ afternoon. “What hurt was that he came in, strike one, strike two– two really nice pitches there and then walks him,” Bochy said of Hernandez’s relief appearance. Then they get a break on a bloop there that just hit by the line, and things unraveled from there.” Bochy also discussed his team’s struggles at the plate. “We’re missing some slug,” Bochy said. “We’re just not slugging like we normally do and that’s why we’re sitting on one run or two runs, for the most part here, the last nine or 10 days. … That’s what we’re talking about. It goes in streaks.

“The guys that normally slug are just not getting it. That’s all. It can be a couple of things, like trying to probably be too patient up there. But a couple guys just aren’t swinging like they normally do and you got to hope they come out of it. That’s where we’re at right now. They’re our guys and we have some guys struggling right now.”