​ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Alejandro Osuna delivered a pivotal three-run homer during a five-run eighth inning to power the Texas Rangers to an 8-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. Osuna’s first long ball of the season came after Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue each produced RBI singles in the six-hit burst against Sam Bachman (1-2). Foscue also contributed a pinch-hit homer in the seventh to knot the score at 3-3.
Peyton Gray (4-0) worked a perfect eighth inning to earn the win for Texas, which narrowed the gap to a half-game behind the first-place Seattle Mariners in the AL West. For the Angels, the setback extended their losing streak to seven games, tying their longest skid of the season.
Texas starter Jacob deGrom exited after 80 pitches through five innings due to discomfort in his left hip and leg. He said the tightness has lingered between starts and typically dissipates before his next outing, but this time it persisted, preventing him from throwing his changeups and tightening further in the fifth inning. He expects to be ready for his next start. DeGrom began the night with some early struggles, giving up two runs in the first inning on Jorge Soler’s double that one-hopped the left-field wall and Josh Lowe’s single to shallow left after a wild pitch, before settling down. He allowed five hits and two walks in five innings, and in 18 outings this season, his first-inning ERA stood at 9.50 compared with 2.29 thereafter.
The Rangers tied the game 2-2 in the second when Nicky Lopez lined an opposite-field, two-out single to left after José Soriano issued two walks, continuing a season in which Soriano has controlled the basepaths with a league-leading 51 free passes. Soriano did not issue another walk and allowed only two hits over six innings.
Angels rookie right-hander Walbert Ureña (5-7, 3.03 ERA) faced Texas on Wednesday with left-hander MacKenzie Gore (5-7, 4.31) slated to start for the Rangers. In the interim, Wade Meckler’s seventh-inning RBI single off Chris Martin had given Los Angeles a temporary 3-2 lead, before Foscue’s seventh-inning homer off Tayler Saucedo swung the momentum back in Texas’s favor.
The Angels had taken the first three games of the season series, but Texas bounced back to even the set. The two teams were scheduled to meet again the following day for the series finale, with Ureña aiming to become the Angels’ starter who could halt Texas’s late rally attempts and Gore hoping to stabilize a Rangers rotation that has dealt with injuries and inconsistency this season.
For Texas, the win improved their position in the AL West race, while the Angels continued to search for consistency as they look to end their skid and climb back in the standings. Fans and analysts will likely be watching to see how deGrom’s health progresses, as his ongoing tightness has ramifications for Texas’s rotation down the stretch, particularly when considering changes in strategy to maximize the team’s playoff hopes.
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