The Los Angeles Angels defeated the Texas Rangers 9-6 on Friday night at Angel Stadium, fueled by four home runs and standout defensive plays.
Shortstop Zach Neto homered twice, while Wade Meckler and Oswald Peraza each added a home run. The win came before a crowd of 32,488 fans.
>>> Forbes 2026 List Excludes Women Among Top 50 Highest-Paid Athletes
Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez earned his first victory since July 31, 2024.
He allowed four earned runs and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking two.
Early Offensive Explosion
Neto started the scoring with a leadoff home run in the first inning off Rangers starter Jacob deGrom, who fell to 3-4.
After walks to Mike Trout and Jorge Soler, Meckler hit a three-run home run on the first pitch of his first at-bat for the Angels.
Meckler, who grew up an Angels fan, finished his debut 2-for-3 with a walk.
He also made a sliding catch against the left-field wall to end the top of the first inning.
Logan O'Hoppe extended the lead to 6-0 in the third with a two-out, two-run single.
>>> Vegas Golden Knights Defeat Colorado Avalanche to Take 2-0 Series Lead
He left the game in the seventh after injuring himself while tagging out Josh Jung at home plate.
Texas mounted a comeback in the fourth inning when Brandon Nimmo hit a home run.
Evan Carter added a two-run triple in the fifth, and Justin Foscue hit an RBI single in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 6-4.
Peraza answered with a solo home run in the seventh inning. He also made a diving play to start an inning-ending forceout in the top of the eighth.
The Angels added insurance in the eighth on Neto's second leadoff home run, a Trout double, and a Nolan Schanuel RBI single.
The Rangers got a solo homer from Danny Jansen in the ninth, but it was not enough.
>>> Brooks Bandits Beat Nanaimo Clippers 2-1 in Overtime, Take 3-1 Series Lead
Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi is scheduled to start for Texas against Angels right-hander Walbert Ureña on Saturday night.
