Rangers Skip Prayer Time in Loss to Angels

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

July 8, 2026

Angels 13, Rangers 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (July 8) — The Texas Rangers hit a wall against the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday night, losing 13–1, in front of a crowd of 23,288. Five of their runs were provided by Jo Adell, who put together a multi-homer game. It’s been said that the devil finds work for idle hands, but it was the Angels who used the Rangers’ idle hands to their advantage in this contest. The Rangers will have one more chance to claim this three-game series Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Lefty Reid Detmers (3–6, 4.13 ERA) will face off against right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (9–7, 4.02 ERA)

Loud Bell by Adell

The Angels jumped out to a 1–0 lead in the top of the first with left-hander MacKenzie Gore pitching. Zach Neto led off the game with a double to left. Mike Trout, who was activated from the 10-day injured list (strained right hamstring) before the game, struck out looking to bring up Vaughn Grissom. Neto scored thanks to a line drive single to left by Grissom.

Fast forward to the top of the fourth when Grissom led off with his second single to left in as many plate appearances. On deck was Adell, who launched a 1–0 pitch over the wall in right to extend the Angels’ lead to 3–0.

The Angels added three more in the top of the fifth. In his third at-bat of the night, Neto led off with another double to left. Gore walked Trout moments later. Grissom plated Neto with his third single of the evening to left. On deck was Adell. He connected on an 0–1 pitch, sending it to deep center to give the Angels a 7–0 lead. It marked the second multi-homer game this season for Adell. His first came on May 10 when he hit two solo homers against the Toronto Blue Jays. It was also the 10th multi-homer game of his career.

Angels Pile On

The lead stretched to 9–0 in the top of the sixth against reliever Gavin Collyer. Josh Lowe drew a one-out walk. He advanced to second when Neto singled on a pop-up that was dropped by Rangers first baseman Jake Burger. Both runners moved up 90 feet on a soft groundout by Trout back to Collyer. On deck was Grissom, who drove in Lowe and Neto with a double to right.

The bleeding didn’t stop, however, as the Angels extended their lead to 11–0 in the top of the eighth off reliever Robby Ahlstrom. With one out, Lowe ripped a single that was bobbled by shortstop Nicky Lopez. After Neto struck out swinging, Trout went deep to left-center on a 2–2 pitch for his 18th blast of the year.

The Rangers managed to get into the run column in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Jose Fermin. Kyle Higashioka entered the game to pinch-hit for Joc Pederson. On a 2–2 pitch, Higashioka hit a solo bomb to left-center for his sixth home run of the season.

The Angels added two more in the top of the ninth with Higashioka coming on to position-pitch. He opened the frame by hitting Adell in the back, much to the disgust of the crowd. Denzer Guzman moved Adell to third with a double to left and Oswald Peraza brought him home with a sacrifice fly to right.

What Went Right for the Angels

Nearly half of the Angels’ hits on Wednesday were of the extra-base variety. Adell and Trout had their home runs and Neto and Grissom had multi-hit games as well. One of the keys to winning is keeping the defense on its toes, and the Angels didn’t give the Rangers much of a chance to catch their breath on Wednesday. Their pitching staff also did well, only giving up one run.

What Went Wrong for the Angels

The only clip in the Angels’ wings came on the eighth-inning solo blast by Higashioka.

Rough Night for Gore

Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore allowed a season-high seven runs en route to his team-high eighth loss of the season. His line was 5.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R-ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 2 HR, 90 pitches/60 strikes. Wednesday marked the most runs he’s permitted since August 5, 2025 against the Athletics as a member of the Washington Nationals. (Career-high-tying eight earned runs). Wednesday signaled the 14th and 15th multi-run innings for Gore this year, with those frames accounting for 40 of his 53 earned runs allowed in 2026. He has drawn the loss in two straight starts despite posting seven strikeouts and one walk in each of those outings.

It was the first instance of seven or more punch-outs, one or zero walks, and a loss in back-to-back starts by a Rangers pitcher in club history. Gore has surrendered three home runs in his last two starts.

No-Decision for Urena

Angels starter Walbert Urena did not factor into the decision of Wednesday’s game, as he contended with an elevated pitch count (90 pitches in four frames), but managed to hold the Rangers scoreless. His line was 4.0 IP, 1 H, 5 BB, 3 K, 90 pitches/52 strikes. Urena allowed a walk or hit in each of his four frames, but held the Rangers 0-for-8 with runners on base. The five walks matched a career high as Wednesday was his second time this season to record a start of five walks and no runs allowed, becoming the fifth pitcher in club history to accomplish that feat.

Lefty Samy Natera, who relieved Urena in the fifth, improved to 1–0 on the season. He pitched two innings and struck out five.

Schumaker’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker gave his thoughts on how his team can move forward after Wednesday’s contest. “They’re big leaguers,” he remarked. “You flush this one quick and move on to tomorrow as quick as you can. There wasn’t a lot of positives today. It was a tough game on both sides of the ball.”