Three Homer Night Lifts Rangers over Angels

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

June 14, 2023

Rangers 6, Angels 3

ARLINGTON, Tex. (June 14) — The Texas Rangers hung on to beat the Los Angeles Angels, 6–3, Wednesday night. Leody Taveras, Marcus Semien, and Corey Seager all homered to help the Rangers gain some momentum in the series. This win gave the crowd of 25,406 something to look forward to in a homestand that has gotten off to a rocky start. The Rangers look to split this four-game set on Thursday at 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. It will be a marquee pitching matchup in the series finale. Two-way star Shohei Ohtani (5–2, 3.32 ERA) will take the mound for the Angels, and Nathan Eovaldi (9–2, 2.49 ERA) will get the ball for the Rangers.

Semien and Seager Go Back-to-Back

Both teams got on the board in their respective halves of the third inning. In the top of the third, Mike Trout drew a walk. Up next was Anthony Rendon, who brought Trout home with a double to right to give the Angels a 1–0 lead. The Rangers answered back in the bottom of the third. Outfielder Leody Taveras blasted a solo homer to center to tie the game at one. It was the sixth home run on the season for Taveras.

Neither team scored again until the bottom of the seventh. It was at this point that the Rangers jumped out to a 4–1 lead. The additional runs came courtesy of back-to-back home runs by Semien and Seager. Semien’s was a two-run blast to left, and Seager’s was a solo shot to right.

Robbie Grossman was the man on base via a single to left when Semien hit his dinger. It was the first time a pair of Rangers hitters have homered on consecutive pitches since Seager and Adolis García pulled the trick on May 28, 2022 against the Oakland Athletics.

The Rangers were able to get two more insurance runs against the Angels in the bottom of the eighth. A single to left by Mitch Garver drove in Josh Jung. Taveras promptly plated Garver with a single of his own to center. It looked like an easy win for the Rangers, but the Angels still had some fight left in them. Ohtani launched a ball to left-center, with Taylor Ward on base, to make it 6–3 in favor of the Rangers in the top of the ninth. Ward doubled to left just before Ohtani’s at-bat.

Pitching Notes

Rangers starter Andrew Heaney struggled on Wednesday. He did not factor into the decision. His final line was 2/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R-ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 95 pitches/55 strikes. Heaney recorded only 11 outs and issued a season high-tying four walks. He threw 72 pitches over his first three innings, including a 30-pitch third frame in which he walked two and hit a batter. The lone run that he allowed came on a two-out bloop double by Anthony Rendon in the third that left the bat at an exit velocity of 75.4 mph (Statcast). Heaney exited with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth but avoided further damage after Grant Anderson retired the first batter he faced via an infield popout.

The aforementioned Anderson threw 2 1/3 innings and did not allow a run. Josh Sborz came on in the seventh, pitched two perfect innings, and got the win. He is now 3–2 with an ERA of 3.16. Will Smith gave up the Angels’ other two runs in the ninth. Angels starter Reid Detmers took no decision despite his second quality start of the year, as he has posted a quality start in each of the two starts in which he has lasted six innings this year. Detmers allowed one earned run on three hits. He walked three, struck out eight, and gave up one home run. Jimmy Herget pitched an inning for the Angels, giving up three runs, and took the loss. He is now 1–3 with an ERA of 5.17. Tucker Davidson surrendered the final three runs that the Rangers scored.

Postgame Comments

The first question that Rangers manager Bruce Bochy fielded was regarding the bullpen’s performance. He said, “They won the ballgame for us. What they did was huge. We brought (Grant) Anderson in in a tough situation with the bases loaded. He got the big out that we needed. I’ll say this about Andrew (Heaney), he worked hard. He threw 90 pitches in the first three-plus innings and only allowed one run. Andrew had good stuff, but it became a bullpen day with his high pitch count.”

As far as the offense goes, Bochy said, “It was good to see Marcus (Semien) break out with his home run. At first, we weren’t sure if it was going to stay fair or not, but it did and this was a hard-fought win. In games like this where you have to lean heavily on the bullpen, you appreciate it even more when your lineup comes through. I have to give credit to Corey (Seager) and Leody (Taveras) for their home runs as well. It was just a really good night for us.”