Angels 5, Rangers 3
ARLINGTON, Tex. (June 15) — It was a tough night in Arlington on Thursday as the Texas Rangers lost a close one to the Los Angeles Angels, 5–3. With this loss, the Rangers have dropped this series to the Angels, losing three out of four. A big moment for the Angels offense came in the top of the eighth when Shohei Ohtani hit his third home run of the series. With this series behind them, the Rangers can set their sights on the Toronto Blue Jays, with whom they begin a three-game set on Friday at 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Kevin Gausman (5–3, 3.12 ERA) will start for the Blue Jays, and lefty Martin Perez (6–2, 4.67 ERA) will take the mound for the Rangers.
Ohtani Homers Again
The Angels got on the board in the top of the second. A solo home run by catcher Chad Wallach gave the Halos a 1–0 lead. The Rangers tied it up in the bottom of the third thanks to Adolis Garcia. Garcia lined a double down the right-field line to plate Nathaniel Lowe. The next batter was Jonah Heim, who scored Garcia with another double to right, giving the Rangers a 2–1 lead.
The game of cat and mouse continued between these two teams in the top of the fourth. Mickey Moniak brought in Jared Walsh with a single that just got past Leody Taveras in center. Taveras was able to keep Walsh to the aforementioned single with a great throw to second from the outfield. In the top of the sixth, the Angels took a 3–2 lead on a solo shot to center by Moniak. The Angels managed to get two more insurance runs in the top of the eighth on the Ohtani homer, his 22nd of the season. He hit three long balls in this series alone, all to the opposite field. The Rangers were able to get one more run in the bottom of the ninth on a bases-loaded walk to Lowe. Robbie Grossman was able to score from third on the play.
Pitching Notes
Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi took the loss for the Rangers despite turning in his team-leading ninth quality start of the season. His final line on the evening was 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R-ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 2 HR, 1 HBP, 105 pitches/67 strikes. The loss snapped his streak of wins in eight straight decisions. The streak began on April 18, and it finishes tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in club history. In addition, it is the longest by a Ranger since Martín Pérez from May 10 to July 29, 2022. Pérez went 9–0 in that stretch. Eovaldi has logged at least seven innings in six of his 14 starts this season.
Angels starter Shohei Ohtani padded the lead for his own victory with his two-run blast in the eighth that gave the Halos a 5–2 lead. On the mound, Ohtani exited in position to win after the Moniak homer in the seventh. He posted a quality start for the first time in three starts in June. His three strikeouts mark Ohtani’s lowest total ever in a start of more than four innings in his major league career. It matched his lowest strikeout total on the mound this season. He also had three strikeouts in the Patriots Day game on April 17 against the Boston Red Sox that was twice delayed by rain.
Three Ejections for the Rangers
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, pitching coach Mike Maddux, and second baseman Marcus Semien were all ejected from Thursday’s game by first base umpire Ramón de Jesús prior to the top of the eighth. De Jesús tossed the three of them after he rang up Semien on an attempted check swing to strike out in a key situation. Semien got the gate first, followed quickly by Maddux, then Bochy. It marked the first time the Rangers have had multiple players/staff run from the same game since July 25, 2021 against the Houston Astros. Brock Holt and Chris Woodward got the heave-ho in that instance by Tim Timmons. Semien’s ejection was the second of his 11-year major league career. Maddux had only been dumped one other time before Thursday’s game. It was on May 10, 2014 against the Red Sox by Vic Carapazza.
Postgame Comments
A somewhat frustrated Bruce Bochy met with members of the media after the game. He tiptoed around questions regarding the three ejections but didn’t avoid them completely. In terms of the Rangers’ offense, he said, “It was a tight ballgame. We had a runner on third, and you all saw that check swing by Marcus (Semien). You see it called when a player’s bat doesn’t cross the plate and vice-versa. It’s a tough call. Obviously, we didn’t think it was the right call. Emotions were flying, and we were barking pretty good, and (Semien) went out to talk about it, and he got tossed. It just wasn’t ideal, but I’ve said all week that this isn’t a fair game. Tonight was a perfect example of that. We’ll have to shake it off and get ready for the next one.”
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Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi also met with reporters after the game. When asked about how he performed, he said, “For me, it was a big series. We were down two games to one, and we weren’t able to pull off the split. I thought I threw the ball well. In the first two innings, I felt like I struggled. I struggled with my mechanics a little bit, but I was able to settle in, and I was at 50 pitches through three innings. I was able to go seven, but I felt like I was just fighting my mechanics the whole night.”
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