A single inning decided this one. The Angels put together a three-run third that erased an early deficit and carried them to a 3-2 win over the Rangers at Angel Stadium, despite seven strong innings from Texas starter Cody Bradford.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| LAA | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 5 | 0 |
Bradford kept the Angels quiet for most of the night, working seven innings and allowing three runs on five hits with just one walk and a strikeout. He departed with the loss after his lone rough patch in the third inning, when Los Angeles strung together the runs that ultimately stood as the difference. Reliever Jose Fermin picked up the win for the Angels after 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts, and Samy Natera Jr. closed it out with a scoreless inning for his third save.
Texas struck first when Joc Pederson homered to center in the first inning, putting the Rangers up 1-0. The Angels answered in the third: Zach Neto singled to left to bring home Wade Meckler and tie the game, then Nolan Schanuel's sacrifice fly to right scored Neto and sent Mike Trout to third for the go-ahead run. Vaughn Grissom followed with a double to left that brought Trout home, making it 1-3 and giving the Angels their eventual margin.
Texas got a run back in the sixth when Jarred Kelenic singled to left to score Brandon Nimmo, cutting the deficit to 2-3, but could not find the equalizer. Los Angeles' bullpen, which covered 4.2 innings with a single run allowed, made the one-run margin hold up the rest of the way.
The result snapped a losing skid for Los Angeles, which improved to 46-74, while Texas fell to 60-60 with the loss.