Angels Beat Rangers to Even Series

Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images

September 6, 2024

Angels 5, Rangers 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (Sep. 6) — The Texas Rangers had their winning streak halted at three on Friday evening, as they lost to the Los Angeles Angels, 5–1, in front of a crowd of 31,014. Logan O’Hoppe provided most of the offense for the Angels in this one with a three-run homer in the sixth. With this win, the Angels have evened the series at one game apiece. The third game in this set of four will take place on Saturday evening with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Lefty Tyler Anderson (10–12, 3.55 ERA) will take the hill for the Angels, while righty Jack Leiter (0–2, 11.78 ERA) will get the ball for the Rangers.

Angels Put Up Five

The Angels got into the run column in the top of the third off Rangers starter Gerson Garabito. Brandon Drury and Niko Kavadas opened the inning with back-to-back singles. They jogged to second and third when Taylor Ward drew a walk. Up next was Zach Neto, who grounded into a 6–4–3 double play that allowed Drury to cross the plate. This brought Rangers manager Bruce Bochy to the mound to bring in Walter Pennington to relieve Garabito. The first batter that Pennington faced was Nolan Schanuel, who drove in Kavadas with a single to center.

The Angels added three more in the top of the sixth against Rangers reliever Jose Ureña. A fielding error by Rangers third baseman Josh Jung allowed Anthony Rendon to reach to lead off the frame. Mickey Moniak advanced Rendon to third with a single to right. On deck was O’Hoppe, who sent one over the wall in left to extend the Angels’ lead to 5–0.

The Rangers got on the board in the bottom of the sixth off Angels starter Samuel Aldegheri. Wyatt Langford opened the frame with an infield single that was out of the reach of Rendon at third. Langford moved to third on a single to center. Adolis Garcia plated Langford with a sacrifice fly to left.

What Went Right for the Angels

The three-run blast by O’Hoppe provided some extra breathing room for the Angels on Friday. Rangers fans were caught off guard by the added insurance. Even though it was only the sixth inning, the dinger sent several fans to the exits. The run-scoring groundout by Neto and the RBI base hit by Schanuel also came in handy for the Halos.

What Went Wrong for the Angels

The only setback for the Angels was when Langford scored in the bottom of the sixth on Garcia’s sacrifice fly.

Call to the Pen

Jose Ureña logged 5 2/3 innings in relief of Rangers starter Gerson Garabito on Friday. He entered the game with one out in the top of the fourth. His final line was 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R-2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 75 pitches/53 strikes.

Friday marked the longest relief appearance by a Ranger since Jordan Lyles on September 7, 2021 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he tossed seven innings. Ureña has covered at least four innings in seven relief appearances this season, the most such outings by a Rangers reliever in a single campaign since Steve Foucault, who had eight in 1974.

Garabito took his second loss after pitching 2 2/3 innings in which he surrendered two runs, both earned, on three hits. He also walked one and struck out one as his record for 2024 now sits at 0–2 with an ERA of 3.10.

First Win in the Books

Angels starter Samuel Aldegheri made his second career start and earned his first major league win, firing six innings of one-run ball. His line was 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K, 90 pitches/52 strikes. The Verona, Italy native became the third Italian-born pitcher to earn a major league victory, first since Chicago White Sox pitcher Marino Pieretti on July 3, 1949 against the Detroit Tigers. Aldegheri’s seven strikeouts on Friday marked the most in a game by a native Italian in major league history.

Aldegheri became the sixth pitcher in Angels history to post an outing of six or more innings, one earned run or fewer, and seven or more strikeouts within his first two games. He now owns a record of 1–1 with an ERA of 2.45.

Postgame Comments

Bochy kept it short and sweet after the game when he reflected on the difficulties that his team had with Aldegheri. “Just couldn’t get it going offensively,” he said. “His fastball played up more than it looked like. We had a hard time with it.”