Rangers 3, Angels 1
ARLINGTON, Texas (Apr 16) — The Texas Rangers came out on top on Wednesday, beating the Los Angeles Angels, 3–1. Key RBI hits by Dustin Harris and Jake Burger helped the Rangers add on to their AL-leading home record of 8–1 in 2025. They’ll go for the three-game sweep on Thursday evening with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (1–1, 5.74 ERA) will get the ball for the Angels, while fellow righty Kumar Rocker (0–2, 7.94 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Rangers.
Burger Gets Things Started
The Rangers broke into the run column first in the bottom of the second off Angels righty Jose Soriano. Josh Jung grounded to second to bring up Harris. A ground-rule double down the right-field line advanced Harris to scoring position. On deck was Burger, who plated Harris with a single up the middle.
Jonah Heim followed with a walk, advancing Burger to second. On deck was Leody Taveras, who grounded into a 4–6 force play, sending Burger to third. Marcus Semien drew a free pass from Soriano, nudging Taveras to second.
Up next was Corey Seager, who lined a single to center, allowing Taveras to score, making it 3–0 Rangers.
The Angels got one back in the top of the sixth off Rangers lefty Patrick Corbin, marking their first run in the last 14 innings. After Jo Adell grounded to short to lead off the inning, Kevin Newman reached on a single to center. He moved to third on a ground-rule double to right by Taylor Ward. Newman scored on an infield single by Luis Rengifo that eluded Seager at short.
What Went Right for the Rangers
One of the things the Rangers did well was keep the pressure on Soriano all night. This reporter observed that with each base hit, Soriano’s head hung lower and lower. That’s what a lineup has to do against a good starting pitcher like him. They found ways to keep the line moving one through nine, leading to the 3–1 victory.
What Went Wrong for the Rangers
The only hiccup the Rangers had came in the sixth inning when Rengifo hit his RBI single. Up until that point, it looked as if they would hold the Angels scoreless for the second night in a row.
Corbin’s Evening
Rangers starter Patrick Corbin made his second start of the season Wednesday, earning the win after tossing 5 1/3 frames of one-run ball. His final line was 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 85 pitches/53 strikes. Corbin fanned six Angels batters his first time through their order, which matches the most strikeouts he’s had when facing the opposition’s lineup in a game for the first time since August 3, 2021 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
This comes after not striking out any of the 19 batters he faced in his last outing on April 8 against the Chicago Cubs. Corbin faced one batter over the minimum through five innings.
After coming on to pitch a 1–2–3 ninth, Luke Jackson notched his sixth save of the season.
Postgame Comments
After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy discussed Corbin’s performance. “It was a great job of pitching,” he said. “He used all his pitches. He went in and out, and had a good fastball tonight. There was a nice mix of his cutter and slider as well. For a guy that missed spring training, that was pretty impressive. I’m glad our offense was able to get him some runs to go with his outing.”
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In a special pregame moment, Bochy caught the ceremonial first pitch thrown by his grandson. This was in honor of Bochy’s 70th birthday on Wednesday. “I told him that I wanted this pitch up high, and he threw it at my feet”, he said with a smile postgame. “He was pretty nervous and overwhelmed, but it meant a lot to both of us. I didn’t know anything about it until I saw him come out, and I know neither one of us will ever forget it.”
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