The Los Angeles Angels entered their weekend series with the Texas Rangers riding high. They had won four straight and nine of their previous 13. It was clear they had all the momentum in the world, and they kept the ball rolling with the Rangers in town.
In their final home series of the 2022 season, the Angels convincingly swept the Rangers. L.A. outscored Texas 15-6 over the three games, making it the second series in a row holding their opponent to a two runs per game average.
Their starting pitchers — Reid Detmers, Jose Suarez, and Tucker Davidson — gave up all six runs, meaning their bullpen was flawless over the course of the series. In fact, their bullpen tossed 9.2 innings in three games, allowing zero runs on three hits and two walks while striking out 15.
At the plate, the Angels got contributions from throughout their lineup. Shohei Ohtani extended his hitting streak to 17 games, Mike Trout hit a record-breaking home run, and Livan Soto caught fire.
Below, we break down the final series at the Big A in 2022 and look ahead to their last three games before the calendar flips and perhaps some major changes take place.
Game 1: Angels def. Rangers 4-1
Detmers had been reeling in his last four starts, holding an ERA of 6.05 in the month of September. However, he made it his mission to end the season on a high note, and he did just that in the opener. Detmers tossed 6.0 innings, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out nine.
His lone run allowed — an Adolis Garcia double that scored Corey Seager — came when the Angels already had a 2-0 lead. Jo Adell and Luis Rengifo each homered in the second and third inning, respectively, to put Detmers in a position to grab his seventh win of the year.
Taylor Ward doubled home Trout in the fifth for some insurance, and Soto capped off the victory with a sacrifice in the eighth. The Rangers got solid performances from Glenn Otto and Taylor Hearn, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of offensive production.
Detmers also got incredible bullpen reinforcements from Andrew Wantz (1.1 IP, 1 H, 3 K), Jose Quijada (0.2 IP, 2 K), and Jimmy Herget (1.0 IP, 2 K), the latter of whom got his ninth save of the season.
Game 2: Angels def. Rangers 3-2
The Rangers held their lone lead of the series for one half-inning in the second game of the series. The Angels got on the board first, though, when Kurt Suzuki hit a base knock to score Adell. Their 1-0 lead held until the seventh, as Jose Suarez was pitching the game of his career.
Suarez took a perfect game into the seventh, retiring the first 18 batters he faced. However, he quickly lost that feat when Seager hit a single to leadoff the seventh, and Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run homer to take a 2-1 lead.
That Rangers lead was short-lived, though, as they passed the baton well in the bottom half of the inning. David Fletcher singled, then Suzuki was hit by a pitch. Soto then doubled to score Fletcher, and reached third when Suzuki was thrown out at the plate, tying the game at 2-2.
Soto scored immediately after as Matt Thaiss grounded into a fielder’s choice, and the Angels 3-2 lead would hold the rest of the way. Suarez finished with 7.0 innings pitched, and two runs allowed on two hits with six strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Zack Weiss and Ryan Tepera struck out four in two perfect innings, the latter getting his sixth save of the season.
Game 3: Angels def. Rangers 8-3
Propelled by a six-run first inning, the Angels cruised to a sweep in the series finale. Ward, Logan O’Hoppe, Soto, and Fletcher all secured RBIs in the opening frame, putting Rangers starter Tyson Miller in a difficult position. He ultimately gave up seven runs on nine hits and three walks in 4.0 innings.
The seventh run came via a Trout home run in the fourth inning, the 39th of the season for him and the 44th of his career vs. the Rangers. That second figure is significant because it made Trout the all-time home run leader against the Rangers, surpassing Reggie Jackson’s 43.
Davidson was pitching extremely well through four innings, as he hadn’t allowed a run on one hit and three walks. But he lost command in the fifth frame, giving up three runs on two hits and two walks. Even still, the Angels had done enough to secure a win.
Now, the Angels travel to Northern California to face the Oakland Athletics in the final series of the 2022 regular season. They do so having won seven straight and 12 of their last 16.