​ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore entered Wednesday night aiming to rebound from a rough June and get back on track. Instead, the left-hander was hit hard, allowing seven earned runs over five innings as the Rangers were routed by the Los Angeles Angels 13-1.
Gore’s evening began with trouble. In the first inning, Angels leadoff man Zach Neto opened the frame with a double, and Vaughn Grissom followed with a single to drive in a run, giving Los Angeles a 1-0 lead before Texas could settle in. The Angels tacked on more runs in the fourth when Jo Adell ripped an opposite-field two-run homer off Gore, pushing the score to 3-0. Adell struck again in the fifth with a three-run blast as part of a four-run inning that extended the Angels’ advantage.
Offensively, Texas managed only a handful of chances against Angels starter Walbert Urrea, who lasted four innings and walked five. The Rangers’ only hit against him came in the first, a baseline hit, as they could not string together rallies against the Angels’ initially stingy pitching.
The bottom of the eighth offered a glimmer of offense for Texas. Pinch-hitting catcher Kyle Higashioka launched a home run to left, marking the second consecutive night a Rangers batter delivered a pinch-hit homer after Justin Foscue’s game-tying shot on Tuesday. Higashioka also took the ball to the mound in the ninth inning, allowing the Angels’ 12th and 13th runs of the night. In doing so, he joined an exclusive Cowboys of Rangers history—becoming the fourth player in franchise lore to hit a home run and pitch in the same game, and the first to accomplish the feat since Yu Darvish in 2016.
With the loss, Texas falls back to a .500 record at 46-46. The club still has a chance to close out the series against the Angels on Thursday night, as Nathan Eovaldi is slated to start for the Rangers at 7:05 p.m.
“They’re big leaguers,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said after the game. “You flush this one quickly and move on to tomorrow as fast as you can. There weren’t many positives today, unfortunately.”
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