Cal Quantrill gave the Rangers exactly what they needed Sunday afternoon: six shutout innings, no walks and a quiet, efficient route through the Angels in a 5-3 Texas win at Globe Life Field.
With the victory, Texas took two of three from Los Angeles and moved to 65-66, pulling even with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. The Angels finished their six-game trip through Houston and Arlington at 3-3 and slipped to 52-79.
Quantrill was sharp from the start and kept rolling all the way through his 15th scoreless inning in a row. The right-hander allowed six hits, struck out six and worked his fifth straight outing of at least five innings while giving up no more than one run. His ERA dropped to 2.90, and he has surrendered just one run over his last four appearances.
Texas built the lead early and never really let it go. The Rangers broke through with three runs in the second against Yusei Kikuchi, beginning with Ezequiel Durán’s leadoff homer on a 1-2 slider to left-center. It was Durán’s 14th of the season and the first homer by either club in the three-game series.
Logan O’Hoppe, back in the lineup after being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock before the game and making his Rangers debut, followed with a single. Cody Freeman then ripped an RBI triple to center, and Freeman scored when Elias Díaz lifted a sacrifice fly, putting Texas ahead 3-0.
Díaz added more in the fifth, turning on a 1-2 fastball and sending it into the second deck in left-center for his sixth homer of the year. Brandon Nimmo followed later in the inning with a sacrifice fly, stretching the Rangers’ lead to 5-0.
Kikuchi’s return to a major-league mound ended with five runs allowed on seven hits across five innings. He struck out four and walked one in his first big-league start since April 29.
The 35-year-old left-hander had been sidelined nearly four months with inflammation in his pitching shoulder and was activated from the 60-day injured list before the game. Afterward, he said he was encouraged to finish without pain, even with the result.
Kikuchi opened the season with a 5.81 ERA in seven starts before the injury.
The Angels did plenty of hitting, collecting 11 knocks, but the big swing never came when they needed it. They put a runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings, went 2-for-10 in those spots and left nine men on base.
“The big hit eluded us,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “That’s how the game goes sometimes.”
Los Angeles finally cracked the board in the eighth against the Texas bullpen. Zach Neto led off with his team-leading 22nd homer, Josh Lowe followed with a sacrifice fly and Gustavo Campero added an RBI single to make it a two-run game. Chase Silseth kept it there by getting José Siri on a fly ball with two runners on.
The Angels made one last push in the ninth, bringing the potential tying run to the plate with two outs, but Jacob Latz ended it by striking out Moisés Ballesteros for his 26th save.
Neto wrapped up a strong road trip with a .500 average, going 14-for-28 with four doubles, a triple and two homers. He drove in nine runs and posted a 1.429 OPS over the six games. Los Angeles still won eight of its 13 games against Texas this season despite Sunday’s loss and finished the trip 3-3.
The Angels head home Monday to open a three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians, with right-hander George Klassen (2-1, 3.74 ERA) lined up to face Cleveland left-hander Parker Messick. The Rangers open a road series Monday against the Chicago White Sox.
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