The Los Angeles Angels had a shot to leave Arlington with a series win. Instead, they walked away with another gut punch.
After splitting the first two games against the Texas Rangers, the Angels turned to Reid Detmers in the finale hoping one of their steadier starters could keep the door open. He couldn’t slow Texas early, and even a furious late comeback wasn’t enough in a 7-6 walk-off loss that slipped away in the ninth inning.
Detmers was tagged for five earned runs in 4.0 innings, and the damage came fast. Josh Jung doubled to start the first, Brandon Nimmo followed with a solo homer, and Jake Burger added an RBI single to put Texas up 2-0 right away. Los Angeles got on the board in the third when Wade Meckler singled, Zach Neto reached on an infield hit, and Mike Trout brought Meckler home with a groundout to shortstop Ezequiel Duran.
That was as close as the Angels got for a while.
Duran answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third, and Justin Foscue made it a 5-1 game in the fourth with a solo shot - the third home run Detmers allowed. He struck out six and walked one, and while he generated 10 whiffs on 39 swings, the Rangers kept finding the big swing.
Chase Silseth gave Los Angeles a much-needed reset when he came on in the fifth and needed just seven pitches for a scoreless inning. But the Angels still trailed 5-1 entering the late innings, and Texas stretched the margin again in the seventh when Foscue ripped a ground-rule RBI double off Brent Suter.
That’s when the Angels finally woke up.
Los Angeles exploded for five runs in the top of the seventh to tie it. Meckler drove in a run with a single, Nolan Schanuel followed with a two-run single, Jorge Soler added another RBI single, and Jo Adell capped the rally with the tying hit. In one inning, a game that looked buried was suddenly level at 6-6.
Ryan Zeferjahn and Sam Bachman each threw scoreless innings to keep it there, but the Angels couldn’t find the last run they needed. Kirby Yates took the loss after surrendering the walk-off hit in the ninth, and Wyatt Langford - back from the injured list earlier in the day - lined a single to left to end it.
The loss stung for more than just the score. Texas entered the series leading the American League West at 46-46, and the Angels had a chance to make life harder for a division rival. Instead, they missed the opportunity and dropped the series.
The Angels now turn to Friday’s opener against the Minnesota Twins. Grayson Rodriguez is scheduled to start for Los Angeles, with Zebby Matthews set to go for Minnesota.
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