ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Los Angeles Angels outlasted the Texas Rangers 5-2 Saturday night for their second-straight win against their division rivals.
Walbert Ureña had another stellar start, going five innings while allowing five hits, one earned run and three walks and striking out six. It's the the fourth time in five starts that Ureña allowed just one run or less in a start and six strikeouts are his second-most in a game this season, behind only an eight strikeout performance against the San Diego Padres on April 19.
"Just trying to be patient and aggressive with my stuff. I know I have really good stuff," Ureña said of his improvements.
Walbert Ureña, Vicious 99mph Sinker. 😤 pic.twitter.com/3w5kMf6wpp
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 24, 2026
Ureña has put together an impressive rookie campaign so far, especially considering he started his season in the bullpen and had to fight his way into the starting rotation.
Trout gets it started early
He also had the benefit of pitching with a lead for most of the game courtesy of a Mike Trout two-run home run in the bottom of the first, though that was the only run support the Angels managed for Ureña while he was still in the game.
Trout's home run came on the first pitch he saw, a 92.2 MPH cutter in the dead-center of the zone. Trout is notorious for habitually letting the first pitch he sees in any at-bat go, but facing Nathan Eovaldi on the mound, he wasn't taking any chances.
Mike Trout crushes home run No. 13 😤 pic.twitter.com/uSrEVXGEHJ
— MLB (@MLB) May 24, 2026
"He's [Eovaldi] a tough pitcher, man," Trout said. "Just trying to get something I can hit early. Go out there, be aggressive."
Managing with traffic
The Rangers scraped two runs together over the course of the game, but considering the amount of traffic they put on the bases, only allowing two runs to cross was more than a blessing.
They had the bases loaded in three separate innings and in each inning the Angels escaped without allowing a run. Ureña specifically escaped twice, striking out Jake Berger both times to do it.
Walbert Ureña stuck out Jake Burger to get out of a jam with the bases loaded to end the top of the fifth inning. Burger lost his bat swinging at a changeup. Likely it from Ureña after 93 pitches. #Angels up 2-1. pic.twitter.com/RqlVI4Jc1p
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) May 24, 2026
"Big situations and they're coming through," Trout said of the Angels pitching staff. "Made some big pitches. Being out in center [and] just seeing them pitch, they're tough. I know how tough it is to hit and to see them pitch... to make them in big situations, it's big for us."
Nolan Schanuel improved the Angels to a 3-2 lead with a double in the bottom of the fifth and Oswald Peraza added two crucial insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to make the lead 5-2, which is all the Angels needed after Kirby Yates came in for the top of the ninth and put the Rangers down in order for his first save of the season.
Steven Park - The Sporting Tribune
Oswald Peraza #2 of the Los Angeles Angels celebrates after a hit during an MLB game against the Texas Rangers on May 23, 2026 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
Gaining momentum
It's the Angels' first set of back-to-back wins since May 5-6, when they defeated the White Sox twice in a row, and it's a chance for them to build some momentum and correct course on their season, something manager Kurt Suzuki is hoping they do moving forward.
"The energy is really good," Suzuki said. "It's fun to be a part of when you're doing something like this on a nightly basis. I know it was only two nights, but it's a good reminder of how we can play and, when things are going good for us, how good we can be."