The Los Angeles Angels’ Texas road trip had them experiencing a bit of deja vu. Against both the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers, the three-game sets followed a similar format.
The Halos were stifled at the plate and battered on the mound en route to big losses in the first two games of each series. They had an aggregate deficit of 16 runs after two games in both series. The 12-0 loss to the Rangers in the opener was the worst defeat of the trip.
Then, in the finale, the Angels rode behind inspired pitching from a young starter to win a low-scoring battle and salvage a 1-2 series defeat instead of a sweep. Last series, it was Chase Silseth. And against the Rangers, it was a gem from the recently struggling Reid Detmers.
The result of both series was a 2-4 road trip that saw the Angels fail to gain any ground in an increasingly difficult American League wild card picture. With exactly 40 games remaining in the season, the Halos are 60-62, seven games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild card spot and still with three teams — the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners — to leapfrog.
Here, we’ll take a game-by-game look as to how the Angels ended up with another series defeat and the standouts from each night.
Game 1: Rangers def. Angels 12-0
The largest defeat of the Angels season came on Monday night in Arlington when the Rangers put together a 12-run shutout victory behind the arm of Max Scherzer.
The Angels mustered just one hit over nine innings as Scherzer blanked them for seven innings with 11 strikeouts and only a walk and a hit. On the other side, Patrick Sandoval struggled to find the strike zone, posting a season high six walks.
Game 2: Rangers def. Angels 7-3
Corey Seager’s two-homer, five-RBI night was the defining feature of the Angels’ game 2 loss to the Rangers. Seager did damage against every pitcher he faced — starter Lucas Giolito and relievers Aaron Loup and Dominic Leone — to push Texas ahead.
Giolito was plagued by another difficult third inning, an emerging trend in his first few starts as an Angel. But he still managed a solid start, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six innings.
The Angels were kept in check at the plate by starter Jordan Montgomery, another Rangers trade deadline acquisiton. He gave up just one earned run while striking out nine over six innings. The Angels struck late with a two-run homer by Randal Grichuk, but the damage had been done.
Game 3: Angels def. Rangers 2-0
Detmers was the star of the show on Wednesday night. After posting a 10.30 ERA in his last six starts, Detmers found himself in a position to potentially be rattled again by one of baseball’s best lineups. Instead, he put together one of his best starts this season.
Detmers blanked the Rangers for 7.1 innings, allowing just one hit with four walks and five strikeouts. He dominated a lineup that had their way with the Angels — and most other teams — and lifted L.A. to a much-needed finale victory.
A pair of solo home runs from Shohei Ohtani (No. 42) and Matt Thaiss gave the Angels all the support they needed for the win.
What’s Next
The Angels return home for a pair of series against the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds. The Rays have been one of baseball’s best teams all season and are currently tied for the third-most wins in the Majors.
Meanwhile, the Reds have been one of the feel-good stories of the MLB season and are in a heated battle for the third and final wild card spot in the National League.