Rangers Drop Series Opener to Dodgers

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

April 18, 2025

Dodgers 3, Rangers 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (Apr 18) — The Texas Rangers saw their six-game winning streak at Globe Life Field come to an end on Friday, as they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3–0. The key moment for the Dodgers was a solo homer by Tommy Edman in the first inning. The Rangers will try to even the series on Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Roki Sasaki (0–1, 3.29 ERA) will get the start for the Dodgers, while fellow righty Nathan Eovaldi (1–2, 2.55 ERA)

Edman Tees Off

The opener of this series got off to a dramatic start. The Dodgers took a 1–0 lead almost immediately in the top of the first against Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom. On an 0–1 pitch, Edman hit his seventh home run of the year, a solo blast to right-center. The reaction from the sellout crowd of 38,623, more than half of which were Dodger fans, was startling and deafening.

The Dodgers added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth against reliever Hoby Milner. Edman led off with an infield single to short, and a throwing error by Corey Seager, moved him to second.

A 3–1 groundout by Mookie Betts moved Edman to third. Up next was Freddie Freeman, who was intentionally walked by Milner. That brought manager Bruce Bochy to the mound to bring in reliever Shawn Armstrong. Chris Taylor came off the Dodgers bench to pinch-run for Freeman.

Edman scored on a single to right by Teoscar Hernandez, bringing up Michael Conforto, who drew a walk. Taylor scored moments later on a sacrifice fly to center by Will Smith.

What Went Right for the Dodgers

Many were expecting Friday to be a low–scoring affair, and it was. The Dodgers made the most out of the few opportunities they were given. The biggest one came straight away with Edman’s dinger in the first inning. Hernandez’ RBI single and the sacrifice fly by Smith helped as well.

What Went Wrong for the Dodgers

When a shutout is the end result for a team, it is hard to find any flaws. The only thing the Dodgers could have done was pad their lead more, but it wasn’t in the cards on this stormy night in Arlington.

Tough Luck for deGrom

Rangers righty Jacob deGrom made his fifth start of the season in Friday’s series opener and was saddled with his first loss after tossing seven frames of one-run ball. His line on the evening was 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR, 96 pitches/61 strikes. Following Edman’s leadoff home run, deGrom retired 20 of the final 23 batters he faced. Prior to Friday, the last time deGrom completed seven innings in a start was April 11, 2023 against the Kansas City Royals.

Career High for Yamamoto

Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto tied his career high with 10 strikeouts across seven scoreless innings in his first career start against the Rangers. His line was 5 H, 0 BB, 10 SO, 102 pitches/68 strikes. By earning the win on Friday, he improves to 3–1. He matched his 10-strikeout performance on March 28 against the Detroit Tigers. This was his 2nd career outing of seven scoreless innings. It also marked his third consecutive Quality Start and the 10th QS of his career. Yamamoto lowered his ERA to 0.93 in 2025, best among qualified NL hurlers at the end of Friday’s game.

Tanner Scott came on to pitch the ninth. He gave up two hits en route to earning his seventh save of the season.

Postgame Comments

After the game, Bochy gave his overall take on Friday’s game. “Jacob (deGrom) was outstanding,” he said. “He did a terrific job. He didn’t walk anybody, and he had really good stuff tonight. Jacob really located his stuff, and their guy (Yamamoto) was tough. Jacob needed to be on top of things. He gave up that homer to Edman in the first, but after that he was lights out. Next time out, we’ll try to get some runs for him.”