Reid Detmers recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts and pinch runner Donovan Walton touched home on an errant throw in the ninth to give the Angels a walk-off 2-1 win at Angel Stadium and their first three-game sweep of the 2026 season.
With one out and runners on first and second in the ninth, third baseman Oswald Peraza grounded into a fielder’s choice at second. Rangers second baseman Justin Foscue bobbled the ball and first baseman Jake Burger couldn’t cleanly field his throw, allowing Walton to advance from second to score the game-winning run.
The win sealed the Angels’ fourth series victory and second three-game win streak of the year.
Detmers (1-5) entered on a three-game skid and finished dominantly after yielding a second-inning home run to Burger.
The left-handed pitcher ultimately surrendered one hit and one run through eight innings — his first time pitching through eight innings in 2026 and first time since his no-hitter as a rookie in 2022 — while setting a new personal best with 14 strikeouts to zero walks.
In front of an announced crowd of 36,903 on “Little League Day” in Anaheim, the 26-year-old used 96 pitches to lower his ERA from 5.07 to 4.57 in the win.
Rangers left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore (3-4) dueled, too, giving up one hit, two walks and one run through six innings.
The Angels’ offense, finishing with four hits, found a way to make do without solely relying on the long ball.
“I think any time, relying on the homer is kind of scary, right?” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said before the game. “Because those things — they’re not easy to hit, home runs in the big leagues. So I think, if you have another dynamic way to score runs besides the home run, it definitely gives you more opportunities. … That’s something we’ve been talking about, and the guys have been working on [it.]”
Mike Trout started the Angels’ scoring in the third with a two-out single to score Sebastián Rivero from second and tie the score at one.
In the ninth, Angels right-handed reliever Sam Bachman struck out Rangers right fielder Brandon Nimmo to get out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam. Bachman earned his first win of the year.
