Nathan Eovaldi delivered a strong performance on the mound. Adolis García added a key two-run home run in the eighth inning to lift the Texas Rangers to a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. The win helped Texas avoid a three-game sweep and snapped the Angels’ three-game winning streak.
Oddsmakers had listed the Rangers as slight -115 road favorites before first pitch, with the over/under set at 8.5 runs. The total ultimately landed just over the line after a pair of late-inning rallies.
Eovaldi, who improved to 9-3 on the season, limited the Angels to a single run on six hits across seven innings. The veteran right-hander issued no walks and struck out four, efficiently navigating through the Angels’ lineup. The outing marked Eovaldi’s 12th quality start of the season and helped the Rangers secure a much-needed victory following two losses to open the series.
Texas took an early lead in the fourth inning when Marcus Semien doubled and came around to score on a single by rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford. The Rangers added to that lead in the sixth when Semien drove in his second run of the game with a base hit, pushing the margin to 2-1.
Los Angeles right-hander José Soriano matched Eovaldi with an effective outing of his own, throwing seven innings of three-run ball while striking out seven. Soriano, who fell to 7-8 with the loss, allowed two earned runs on six hits without issuing a walk.
The Angels temporarily pulled even in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Luis Rengifo. Still, they could not mount additional offense against Eovaldi before he exited after the seventh.
García separated the Rangers in the eighth inning with a towering two-run homer to left-center field, his 15th of the season. The long ball came off Angels reliever Adam Cimber and gave Texas a 4-1 advantage. The Rangers scored two more runs in the inning, pushing their lead to 6-1.
Los Angeles made things enjoyable in the bottom half of the eighth when Nolan Schanuel connected for a two-run homer, cutting the deficit to 6-3. However, that would be the extent of the Angels’ late offense.
Robert Garcia closed the door in the ninth inning, earning his ninth save of the season. Corey Seager added a single in the final frame to extend his major league-leading on-base streak to 29 consecutive games.
With the win, Texas improved to 49-48, remaining in the mix in the American League Wild Card race. The Angels fell to 47-50 and will look to rebound as they return to American League Central competition.
Up next, the Rangers will open a weekend series on the road against the Seattle Mariners with Jack Leiter (7-6, 4.09 ERA) scheduled to start on Friday. The Angels will host the Chicago White Sox, with Tyler Anderson (2-6, 4.41 ERA) set to take the mound in the series opener.