ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joc Pederson homered on the third pitch of the game. Cody Bradford gave the Texas Rangers 7 innings on 75 pitches. The Los Angeles Angels still came away with a 3-2 win Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.
Texas went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 8 men on base. The Rangers fell to 60-60, a half-game behind Houston in the American League West.
It was the 20th time this season Texas has been exactly .500, the most of any team in the majors.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said the offense got away from its approach once runners reached base.
“I think we were maybe overanxious,” Schumaker said. “We had guys multiple times on the ropes, either via the walk or big hit, and then kind of rushed through the at-bat, the first couple of pitches, for whatever reason. Sometimes we just get off our game plan a little bit during the game. We get traffic and then just can’t hit them in.”
Joc Pederson Reaches Base Four Times
Pederson gave Texas a run before the Angels recorded an out. He sent Ryan Johnson’s third pitch 416 feet into the ficus trees beyond center field. It was Pederson’s seventh leadoff home run of the season and the 33rd of his career.
Pederson reached in all 4 of his plate appearances. He was left on base three times.
Brandon Nimmo followed the homer with a single after a 7-pitch at-bat. Ezequiel Duran drew an 11-pitch walk.
Johnson needed 31 pitches to finish the first inning.
The Dallas native, who pitched at Dallas Baptist, settled down from there. He needed 53 pitches to cover his next three-plus innings and allowed only 1 hit between the end of the first and the fifth.
Los Angeles scored all 3 of its runs in the third.
Wade Meckler singled and scored on Zach Neto’s single. Neto stole third and came home on Nolan Schanuel’s sacrifice fly. Vaughn Grissom doubled home Mike Trout for a 3-1 lead.
The Angels did not score again.
Texas put another inning together in the fifth.
Austin Wynns singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Pederson walked with one out against Tayler Saucedo. Wyatt Langford popped out on 2 pitches. Corey Seager struck out on 5.
Langford is 6-for-53 over the past two weeks. Seager is batting .192.
The Rangers got their second run in the sixth.
Nimmo and Duran opened the inning with consecutive singles. Evan Carter and Jake Burger followed with flyouts on a combined 7 pitches.
Jarred Kelenic came off the bench and dropped a single into left-center to score Nimmo.
His contract had been selected a little more than three hours before first pitch.
It was Kelenic’s first RBI since May 15 and his first at-bat of another stint with Texas. The Rangers designated him for assignment in June and released him in July. They have since re-signed him twice.
Texas did not record another hit after Kelenic’s single.
Seager said the Rangers have been through stretches like this with runners on base before.
“It goes in waves,” Seager said. “Obviously you’d like to capitalize more when they’re out there. When you’re going good, you do, and when you’re not, that’s what happens. So, unfortunately, that’s kind of what happened to us tonight.”
The issue has followed Texas on the road.
During a five-game winless stretch against the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros on its previous trip, the Rangers went 5-for-34 with runners in scoring position.
Cody Bradford Covers Seven Innings On 75 Pitches
Bradford’s night came down to one inning. The Angels collected 3 of their 5 hits and all 3 runs in the third. Bradford kept them off the board everywhere else.
The left-hander allowed 5 hits and 1 walk across 7 innings. He struck out 1 and threw 75 pitches.
It was only his second start since returning from the elbow surgery that kept him out of the majors after the 2024 season.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Bradford became the third Rangers pitcher in the pitch-tracking era, which dates to 1988, to complete at least 7 innings on 75 pitches or fewer.
Andrew Heaney was the most recent, throwing 74 pitches over 7 innings against the Washington Nationals two seasons ago. Bradford took the loss.
Johnson left after 4-plus innings for Los Angeles. Right-hander José FermÃn later recorded 4 outs and earned the win.
Left-hander Samy Natera Jr. retired Texas in the ninth for his third save.
Announced attendance was 23,648.
The Angels made changes to their pitching staff hours before the game. Los Angeles fired pitching coach Mike Maddux, bullpen coach Dom Chiti, and assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott.
Maddux served as the Rangers’ pitching coach from 2009 through 2015.
Rangers Turn To Cal Quantrill Wednesday
The four-game series is tied at one game apiece. Right-hander Cal Quantrill starts Wednesday for Texas.
Quantrill is 4-4 with a 3.56 ERA.
The Angels counter with right-hander George Klassen, who is 0-1 with a 7.27 ERA.
First pitch is scheduled for 9:10 p.m. CT at Angel Stadium. The game airs on ESPN.
