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New York Times
20 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Mike Trout on Angels manager's benches-clearing defense after HBPs: ‘The boys love it'
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Benches cleared during a chaotic eighth inning at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night, leading to a war of words between Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and interim Los Angeles skipper Ray Montgomery. After Rangers reliever Shawn Armstrong hit two Angels batters in back-to-back plate appearances, Montgomery left the Angels' dugout and stormed to the opposing dugout in frustration. Advertisement 'The only thing I said was, 'How many times are you going to hit a guy,'' Montgomery said after the Angels' 8-5 victory. 'I wasn't insinuating that they were intentionally doing it. … Throw the ball over the plate.' Four Angels batters were hit on the evening. Mike Trout was hit on the wrist, but he said his guard protected him. Luis Rengifo was hit in the inning prior and stayed in the game. Neto was plunked twice. 'I think the boys love it,' Trout said of his manager taking a stand. 'Sticking up for his players, sticking up for his guys. It's fun to see.' Montgomery — who took over for manager Ron Washington in June — said he understood why the Rangers would be upset at him, but he said he made it clear to Bochy that he wasn't accusing Texas of throwing at the Angels on purpose. At the time, the Rangers were down by two runs. Bochy, the Rangers' legendary manager, exited the dugout as benches cleared and bullpen members raced toward the action. Home plate umpire Marvin Hudson got between Montgomery and Bochy, and tempers simmered after a few moments. 'I just heard the yelling and that was enough,' Bochy said. '(Hitting guys intentionally) was the last thing (we were trying to do). I brought (Armstrong) in to keep them from scoring a run. But I guess we hit somebody and it's intentional, but when they hit (Corey) Seager it's not. I just thought that was enough.' This is the third bench-clearing skirmish for the Angels this season, though none has resulted in ejections. (Photo of Montgomery on Tuesday: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Rangers' long-awaited win streak has finally arrived, right when they needed it most
ANAHEIM, Calif. — It has always felt like the Texas Rangers were just one win streak away. Such is the expectation for a team that went from a World Series championship in one season to a sub-.500 record the next. They should be better. 'We felt that way,' agreed manager Bruce Bochy. That's what the organization has told itself so many times over the last season and a half. Winning is inevitable, even as it's been elusive. Advertisement After all, the Rangers are not worse on paper than the club that won that aforementioned ring. But they've consistently fallen far below their lofty standards in the nearly two years since winning it all. That long-awaited win streak has finally come to pass, as the Rangers have been baseball's hottest team following the All-Star break. And, quite frankly, they've done it at the perfect time. Texas was 8.5 games out of the American League West lead and 3.5 games back of a wild-card spot on July 18 — firmly in sell territory amid a crowded field. The Rangers are a half-game back of a playoff spot after their six-game winning streak was snapped Monday. As teams like the Rays and Guardians have faded, the Rangers have surged. And this has quite possibly shifted the front office's outlook on whether 2025 is a year worth fighting for. '(Chris Young), I feel like he's always looking to make the team better,' said Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi of the team's top baseball operations executive. 'It's up to them with what they decide they want to do. I feel like with the guys we have right now, we have a good chance of going out there and proving a lot of people wrong.' It's been offense that's gotten Texas out of its deep slump. The Rangers have the best run differential of any team in July, outscoring opponents 127-67 after Monday's game in Anaheim. Pitching has kept Texas in the mix most of the season, with Jacob deGrom, Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle all pitching to sub-3.00 ERAs. However, offense was always supposed to be this team's identity, even when it wasn't producing. The decline, across the board, was almost inexplicable last season. They had a clubhouse full of star players with track records — some of whom developed into stars in real time, during their playoff run. Marcus Semien's offensive production fell off in 2024, as he posted a sub-.700 OPS for the first time in a full season. Jonah Heim, who looked like a budding stalwart behind the plate, saw his OPS dip from .755 in 2023 to .602 last season. Adolis Garcia, despite taking more at-bats in 2024 than the year prior, still hit 14 fewer home runs. Advertisement Those players have also been the backbone of the resurgence. Semien hit a walkoff single on Saturday. Garcia has a .766 OPS over the last month, after entering that stretch with a .646 mark. Everyone's stepping up. 'That's life, it's like that,' Garcia said. 'Sometimes you have to go through something that makes you get better. We never got frustrated, we focused on continuing to believe.' If the Rangers do decide to add before Thursday's 6 p.m. ET deadline, the Competitive Balance Tax threshold could play a role in how they go about making deals. Their current payroll against the tax is estimated to be nearly $235 million according to FanGraphs, while the CBT threshold this season is $241 million. The club did pay the tax in 2023 and 2024, so it will likely be incentivized to stay below the line this year, particularly if it's close. What's most important, however, isn't what the Rangers add. It's that they've likely removed the risk that Young will substantively subtract from the roster. They have a team capable of competing, with or without major additions. 'This is more who we think we are,' said Bochy. 'It's been a couple years where we didn't have this consistency. But the last couple weeks, it was really critical that we would come out of it.' For so long, this team couldn't rely on the players it needed to rely on the most. But because of those players' career track records, it also fostered the hope that, at some point, there'd be the course correction that's currently taking place. It would have been fair for Young to look at his roster, amid a second straight floundering season, and believe that this wasn't working. The winning streak came just in the nick of time to avoid going down that path to a sell-off. Perhaps the winning streak is masking some of the fundamental flaws of this roster. Or, perhaps, the resurgence has finally come. The winning streak, at the very least, will allow them the chance to find out. Advertisement 'I think any team will say that when you're hovering in that, 'Are they in this?' It was critical that we played well,' Bochy said. 'Now the decisions from the front office, ownership, it makes it a lot easier for them.' (Top photo of the Rangers celebrating a win over Atlanta on Saturday: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)
Reuters
3 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Rejuvenated Rangers make quick return to Anaheim
July 28 - For the second time in a three-week span, the Texas Rangers head to Anaheim, Calif., to open a series with the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. But a lot has changed for Bruce Bochy's club in that time. The Rangers were a season-high 11 games back of the first-place Houston Astros in the American League West and looked in grave danger of missing the playoffs when that series began on July 7. But Texas made the most of a nine-game homestand following the All-Star break, winning eight times with the only loss a 2-1 setback to the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers in a game started by reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. The Rangers bring a six-game winning streak into Monday's opener after back-to-back three-game sweeps of the Athletics and the Atlanta Braves, outscoring their opponents 37-14 in the process, and are tied with the Seattle Mariners for the final AL wild-card spot. "We played outstanding baseball here in this homestand," Bochy said following an 8-1 victory over the Braves on Sunday. "Going into the homestand we needed to. We needed to make up some ground. What a great job they did. "The guys didn't get down. They haven't. I think it showed in this homestand." Josh Smith went 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and a two-run homer, and Wyatt Langford had a three-run double to lead the Rangers offensively. Jack Leiter picked up his seventh win, allowing one run on two hits over six innings while striking out seven. "It's such a long season, you're not going to be your best the whole 162," Smith said. "Even though we weren't playing great, we still kind of kept ourselves in it, playing right at .500 or just below .500 until we got hot." Texas, a season-high six games over .500 (56-50), now hits the road for seven games beginning with three contests against the Angels followed by a four-game showdown with the Mariners in Seattle. "We've got to keep this going," Smith said. "We can't take our foot off the gas." Right-hander Jacob deGrom (10-2, 2.28 ERA) starts the series opener and will be opposed by right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (3-9, 6.03). deGrom is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three career starts against Los Angeles. He picked up a no decision in a 6-5 loss on July 7 at Anaheim Stadium that ended with Nolan Schanuel drawing a bases-loaded walk off Hoby Milner in the bottom of the ninth to force Luis Rengifo in with the winning run. Kochanowicz was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake following his last big league start on July 10 against the Rangers -- a game in which he allowed eight runs in eight hits in just 2 2/3 innings of an 11-4 loss. He is 0-4 with a 7.97 ERA in four career starts against Texas. The fourth-place Angels are nine games behind Houston in the AL West and five games behind the Rangers and Seattle for the final wild-card spot. But they come in off a milestone 4-1 victory over the Mariners on Sunday. Mike Trout hit a two-run home run, the 397th of his career, passing Joe Carter into 62nd place on the all-time home run list. The two RBIs also gave Trout 1,001 in his career, third most in franchise history behind Garret Anderson (1,292) and Tim Salmon (1,016). "It's good to finally put a good swing on a ball," Trout said of his 443-foot drive that landed halfway up the batter's eye in dead center. "It takes you teammates getting on base to accomplish that. I can't do it without them." The win was just the second in the last seven games for the Angels. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Joc Pederson returns to Rangers lineup after missing 52 games with a broken hand
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joc Pederson returned to the Texas Rangers' lineup Sunday after missing 52 games because of a broken right hand. Pederson, who joined Texas on a $37 million, two-year contract during free agency in December, was set to bat fifth as the designated hitter in the series finale against the Atlanta Braves. 'We signed Joc to be part of this offense, a big part of this offense, a guy that can hit in the heart of the order, drive in runs,' Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said before Sunday's game. 'He should make us a better offense." Pederson hit .131 with two home runs and six RBIs in his first 46 games with the Rangers. The two-time World Series champion was at .052 through 19 games after a 0-for-41 slump. The 33-year-old suffered the broken hand on May 24 when he was hit by a pitch, an 87.5 mph cutter from Chicago White Sox right-hander Bryse Wilson. Pederson was to make his 39th start, his 37th at DH, with two at first base. Bochy said Pederson again will primarily be a DH. After being part of the Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series title played at Globe Life Field to end the pandemic-impacted 2020 season, Pederson was with the Braves for their championship the following year. To make room for Pederson on the active roster, infielder/outfielder Michael Helman was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock. ___ AP MLB:
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Joc Pederson returns to Rangers lineup after missing 52 games with a broken hand
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joc Pederson returned to the Texas Rangers' lineup Sunday after missing 52 games because of a broken right hand. Pederson, who joined Texas on a $37 million, two-year contract during free agency in December, was set to bat fifth as the designated hitter in the series finale against the Atlanta Braves. 'We signed Joc to be part of this offense, a big part of this offense, a guy that can hit in the heart of the order, drive in runs,' Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said before Sunday's game. 'He should make us a better offense.' Pederson hit .131 with two home runs and six RBIs in his first 46 games with the Rangers. The two-time World Series champion was at .052 through 19 games after a 0-for-41 slump. The 33-year-old suffered the broken hand on May 24 when he was hit by a pitch, an 87.5 mph cutter from Chicago White Sox right-hander Bryse Wilson. Pederson was to make his 39th start, his 37th at DH, with two at first base. Bochy said Pederson again will primarily be a DH. After being part of the Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series title played at Globe Life Field to end the pandemic-impacted 2020 season, Pederson was with the Braves for their championship the following year. To make room for Pederson on the active roster, infielder/outfielder Michael Helman was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock. ___ AP MLB:
