Angels' bats come out flat in series-opening loss to Rangers

One big early hit for the Rangers was enough to get the job done, as an overall solid pitching performance from the Angels was voided behind some poor offense in a 3-1 loss on Thursday night at Globe Life Field.

Adolis Garcia launched a first-inning home run that quickly gave Texas the lead and start the series with a bang. That would be the only scoring moment of the game for Garcia and the Rangers, who recorded just one more hit with runners in scoring position the rest of the way.

The Los Angeles lineup had even bigger dificulties, not managing to record an RBI hit on Thursday. Their only run of the night came on an RBI groundout from Nolan Schanuel in the third. Only two players in the lineup managed to record a hit, with Zach Neto accounting for three of them.

On the mound, Jack Kochanowicz battled the early adversity to turn things around and produce yet another quality start. He would end up tossing 93 pitches (65 strikes) as he worked six innings and walked just one. 

The right-hander (2-4) did not record a strikeout, doing an impressive job of pitching to contact on a consistent basis. Despite the effort, he took the loss with his offense failing to come through with run support.

The Angels are now 58-82 and 28-40 on the road. They remain as the fifth place team in the AL West, two games behind the Athletics (61-80) for fourth place. 

After going 2-8 on their last road trip, things are not off to an ideal start for Los Angeles as they embark on a seven-game trip.

Kochanowicz continues streak

The 23-year-old starter was ultimately burned by Garcia's big three-run shot in the first as things got off to a rocky start. Kochanowicz allowed singles to two of the first three batters he saw, putting runners on the corners with one out for Garcia. 

He labored through 25 pitches as he surrendered five of hits eight hits allowed total within the opening frame. From the second on, he looked like a new man, tossing five more innings of three-hit shutout baseball. 

He exited with three earned runs allowed, all of them coming on his fifth home run conceded this year. 

Despite the loss, he came through with his fifth consecutive quality start. The last Angels' pitcher to do so was Shohei Ohtani, who had six in 2021. Ohtani wrapped up a two-game set in Anaheim on Wednesday that marked his first trip back to Angel stadium since inking his historic contract with the Dodgers. 

Within the five-start span, Kochanowicz is 2-2 with an ERA of 2.84. It has been a much better stretch than he showed in his first stint at the Major-League level earlier this season, where he was sent down after allowing 11 runs in two starts.

Minimal contributions

Of the four Angels' hits on Thursday, they all came between Zach Neto and Brandon Drury Neto finished 3 for 4 (three singles), while Drury also contribued a single himself. Neto has now hit safely in three consecutive games.

The rest of the lineup finished 0 for 22 with the lone run coming on Schanuel's groundout in the third.

They were lucky to avoid an inning-ending double play as Ward crossed the plate thanks to some heads-up baserunning. He did, however, finish 0-3 with a strikeout and snapped a streak of three consecutive games with a home run. He also snapped what was a career-high 14-game hitting streak.

Manager Ron Washington was complimentary of Rangers' starter Cody Bradford, who limited Los Angeles two hits across his six innings in the game. "He changed speeds very well," he said about the soft-throwing left-hander. "I think he has an idea of what he's trying to do and he executes."

In the 27 games for the Angels with four hits or less, they have gone 8-19. 

Zeferjahn cruises

In just his fourth appearance, the rookie delivered his third consecutive scoreless performance to help Los Angeles limit the damage. The 26-year-old worked the final two innings for the Angels, allowing just two hits and striking out two on 21 pitches (15 strikes).

He is now riding a streak of 4 2/3 scoreless innings, serving as another effective arm in a Los Angeles bullpen that has contined to be a rare bright spot. Angels' relievers led the MLB with a 2.67 ERA heading into Thursay's contest and ranked second with a 1.08 WHIP. 

Zeferjahn's ERA is now down to 2.84. He is one of five arms in the bullpen with an ERA of 3.50 or lower. The unit has done a great job at showing consistency in the second half of the season despite a lack of opportunity to pitch with a lead. 

Flamethrower Ben Joyce took the headlines in the series against the Dodgers, where he delivered the fastest strikeout pitch in MLB history at 105.5 MPH. 

The Angels will need to take advatnage of a Rangers' bullpen for the rest of the series which has been on the other end of the league in bullpen performance. With a 4.49 ERA, the unit ranks as the seventh-worst in the MLB. 

Los Angeles and Texas will meet for the second game of four at 5:05 Friday. Angels left-hander Samuel Aldegheri (0-1, 3.60 ERA) will make his second career start after allowing two earned runs in his debut against the Mariners last Friday. He faces Rangers right-hander Gerson Garabito (0-1, 2.55 ERA), who also is making his second start.