Langford, Rangers Walk-Off against Angels

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

July 9, 2026

Rangers 7, Angels 6

ARLINGTON, Texas (July 9) — The Texas Rangers were able to redeem themselves after Wednesday’s 13–1 loss with a 7–6 win over the Los Angeles Angels Thursday to win the series. After being reinstated from the 10-day IL before the game, Wyatt Langford contributed in a big way, giving the Rangers their third walk-off single of 2026. With the Angels in the rearview mirror for now, the Rangers will host the Houston Astros for three beginning Friday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-handers Hunter Brown (1–0, 3.38 ERA) and Cal Quantrill (3–1, 3.35 ERA) will go head-to-head with fellow righty Kumar Rocker (2–7, 3.95) serving as an opener for the Rangers.

The Angels, meanwhile, head north to face the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series also beginning Friday with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm Central at Target Field. The Angels have yet to announce their starting pitcher as of press time, and right-hander Zebby Matthews (4–5, 4.43 ERA) will get the ball for the Twins.

Three-Homer Night for Rangers

The Rangers got on the board in the bottom of the first against lefty Reid Detmers. Brandon Nimmo hit a two-out solo homer to left on a 2–2 pitch. Josh Jung followed with a line-drive double to left and Jake Burger brought him home with a single to left.

The Angels split the lead in half in the top of the third off right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. Wade Meckler led off with a single up the middle. Zach Neto hit an infield single to Ezequiel Duran at short. The ball was deflected off the glove of Jung at third. Meckler moved to within 90 feet of home on the play. On deck was Mike Trout, who drove in Meckler with a groundout to Burger at first.

The Rangers strung together three more runs in the bottom of the third. Nimmo continued his nice evening at the plate with a leadoff single to center and stole his fourth base of the season a moment later. Up next was Duran, who hit a wall-scraper to center on a 2–1 pitch. It was his eighth long ball of 2026.

The Rangers stretched the lead to 5–1 in the bottom of the fourth. On the first pitch he saw, Justin Foscue blasted a two-out solo dinger to center for his seventh home run of the campaign.

Heavenly Comeback for Angels

The Rangers scored once more in the top of the sixth against reliever Brent Suter. Kyle Higashioka hit a one-out single to left. He headed back to the dugout when Cam Cauley grounded into a 6–4 force play. Cauley moved to second when Suter hit Alejandro Osuna with a pitch. That brought up Foscue, who plated Cauley with a ground-rule double down the line in right.

The Angels came all the way back in the top of the seventh. To lead things off, Denzer Guzman reached on a catcher’s interference call on Higashioka. Logan O’Hoppe drew a walk to move Guzman into scoring position. On deck was Meckler, who scored Guzman with a sharp single to right.

This turn of events brought Rangers manager Skip Schumaker to the mound to bring in reliever Peyton Gray. Gray started his night by walking Neto to load the bases. Trout reached on a 3–2 force play to bring up Nolan Schanuel. He brought Meckler and Neto home with a single to center. Up next was Jorge Soler, who plated Trout with another single to center.

Gray struck out Vaughn Grissom on a foul tip and before being lifted for reliever Tyler Alexander. Jo Adell, who had two home runs in Wednesday’s game, came off the bench to pinch-hit for Josh Lowe. Adell singled to left to allow Schanuel to score, tying the contest, 6–6.

Langford’s Big Moment

The score remained the same until the top of the ninth. Former Ranger Kirby Yates came on in relief of Sam Bachman for the Angels. Osuna set the table with a leadoff single to center. Nicky Lopez entered as a pinch-hitter for Foscue and laid down a sacrifice bunt. Osuna moved to first on the 3–4 putout. Angels second baseman Oswaldo Peraza was covering first for Grissom. That brought up Langford. On a 1–1 pitch, he lined a single that bounced off the wall in left, enabling Osuna to score the winning run. Their teammates were waiting for both of them behind home plate with the inevitable Gatorade bath at the ready.

It was the fourth career walk-off hit for Langford and his first since a walk-off grand slam on September 3, 2024 against the New York Yankees.

What Went Right for the Rangers

The various base hits and home runs were crucial in this game, but what turned out to be even more crucial was that they kept the lead for the entire game. The Angels tied it, but the home nine did what was needed in order to keep the lead and regain it when necessary. It’s one of the things in baseball that goes overlooked at times until it happens in high-leverage situations.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

Things were going fine for the Rangers until the seventh. They went off the rails a little when Meckler hit his RBI single. The two-run base hit by Schanuel made everyone in the Rangers’ dugout uneasy as well. It became a pattern when Adell tied the game in that inning, also with a single.

Tough Luck for Eovaldi

Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi took a no-decision Thursday after tossing six-plus innings. His final line was 6 H, 4 R-3 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 99 pitches/74 strikes), while striking out a season-high 10 batters. Thursday was his first game with double-digit strikeouts since August 29, 2024 against the Chicago White Sox. Eovaldi has fanned nine or more batters in four straight starts, the longest streak of his career. He joined Yu Darvish and Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers in franchise history to fan nine or more in four or more consecutive starts. Eovaldi generated season highs in whiffs (23) and strike pct. (74.7%).

After recording the final out in the top of the ninth, reliever Cole Winn earned the victory, improving his record to 4–2 with an ERA of 6.32.

Detmers Struggles

Angels starter Reid Detmers surrendered a season-high three home runs in a no-decision. His line was 4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R-ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 82 pitches/52 strikes. Detmers had not allowed multiple long balls in any of his 18 starts this season, as he entered the game with a 2.1 HR% (5th-best among AL qualifiers; league average is 3.1%). It was the first time he yielded two or more home runs since September 27, 2024 against the Rangers at Angel Stadium, going 79 games and 18 starts between multi-homer outings.

After surrendering Langford’s walk-off single, Yates took the loss, bringing his record to 0–4 with an ERA of 3.15.

Schumaker’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Shumaker not only gave praise to Langford, but also to the Rangers’ training staff for getting him healthy. “There’s a lot of credit to our training staff for getting him back in such a fast time,” he said. “They put a lot of work in. You trust the player, trust the training staff, and the training staff did an amazing job with him. That last at-bat was crucial. Obviously, we don’t win that game without Wyatt Langford, but there were great at-bats all day long. Having Wyatt back just makes our lineup different. [Josh Jung], too.”