One hit, and it came in the sixth
Cody Freeman led off the sixth inning with a single. That was it. That was the entire Texas Rangers offence on Saturday night at Globe Life Field.
Ryan Johnson gave up that hit and nothing else. Seven innings, one hit, no runs. The Angels right-hander had kept Texas hitless through five before Freeman finally dropped one in safely, and by then Los Angeles had already taken hold of a game the Rangers badly needed.
Johnson moved to 3-7 on the season. The record says one thing about his year. Saturday said something very different.
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Fulmer and Watson finish it off
Michael Fulmer took the eighth and walked a batter. Rookie Ryan Watson handled the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning for his second save of the season. Three pitchers, one hit between them, a 3-0 win on the road.
Zach Neto did most of the damage at the plate. He went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and two runs scored, driving the Angels forward every time they needed a spark. Cody Bradford wore the loss for Texas, scattering seven hits and two runs across 5 1/3 innings to fall to 0-2.
For an Angels team long since out of the picture, nights like this are about individual proof rather than standings. Johnson has spent the season taking the ball for a club that rarely gives him support, and the losing record he carries reflects the offence behind him more than the arm.
What it costs Texas
The timing is what stings. Cleveland beat Colorado in Denver on the same night, and with Texas going down at home, the Guardians pulled level with the Rangers for the third and final American League wild-card berth. Cleveland has now won three in a row.
Texas closes the series on Sunday afternoon with the bats under scrutiny. Managing a single hit against a pitcher carrying a 3-7 record is the sort of evening that sits heavily in a clubhouse chasing October, and the Rangers have run out of room to file it away as a bad night.
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