Travis d’Arnaud is aware of Jacob deGrom higher than another catcher in baseball. He caught the hard-throwing right-hander 60 occasions after they performed along with the New York Mets, probably the most frequent backstop the previous Cy Younger Award winner has thrown to in his profession.
That familiarity did d’Arnaud and the Angels effectively en path to their 6-5 victory over the Rangers (44-47) on Monday evening, by which Nolan Schanuel walked off their American League West foes within the ninth inning by drawing a bases-loaded, RBI stroll.
The veteran catcher ambushed deGrom within the second inning for a two-run residence run, simply hitting the ball exhausting sufficient — 97.4 mph — over the left-field wall.
D’Arnaud’s residence run broke deGrom’s Rangers franchise-record streak of 14 consecutive begins with two or fewer runs given up — and supplied the Angels (44-46) with an early 3-2 lead.
“Getting lucky to hit a homer against any Cy Young winner is really special,” mentioned d’Arnaud, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Later, with deGrom in line for the win, d’Arnaud tied the rating throughout a two-out rally within the sixth towards aid pitcher Shawn Armstrong, lining a double to deep left-center area to attain Luis Rengifo, who reached base on a single.
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe douses Nolan Schanuel with a cooler of sports activities drink after he delivered a walk-off stroll towards the Texas Rangers Monday at Angel Stadium.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Related Press)
“We were in every game right till the end, in every single game in Toronto, and so it showed we were still going to fight to the last out,” d’Arnaud mentioned, when requested about not with the ability to come by way of as a group with three, one-run losses towards the Blue Jays, “and today we were able to prevail, which is a huge step for us.”
A batter later, pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. channeled the “Throwback Week” theme at Angel Stadium, reverting to the clutch hitting that earned him the nickname “Late Night LaMonte” in San Francisco. The 31-year-old, sporting the ‘70s-style Angels uniform, singled to center to give the Angels a 5-4 lead.
Interim manager Ray Montgomery, who was ejected in the seventh innings arguing balls and strikes after Mike Trout looked at an inning-ending strike three call, said Wade waited for his opportunity to make an impact — even with limited at-bats after Jorge Soler’s return from harm making a log jam within the outfield.
“Anytime off the bench you can get some sort of feeling and get some reps, it’s good, and you hope it carries over,” mentioned Montgomery, who watched the rest of the sport from the clubhouse. “Huge at-bat by him.”
DeGrom didn’t flex the ace-caliber stuff he typically assessments foes with. On Monday, he gave up three earned runs and 5 hits throughout 5 innings, putting out 5 and strolling two.
Yusei Kikuchi, coming off Sunday’s announcement that he earned an All-Star berth (his second of his profession), didn’t reside as much as the pitcher’s duel billing both. The Japanese southpaw labored by way of an almost-20 minute first inning — by which he gave up a two-run residence run to Corey Seager — and by no means settled down throughout his 5 innings.
“I didn’t have my best stuff, but the team really picked me up today,” Kikuchi mentioned in Japanese by way of an interpreter.
Earlier than d’Arnaud’s tying double, Kikuchi was sure to be the shedding pitcher, giving up 4 runs on six hits, struggling to accrue the identical strikeout success he’d achieved as of late. He struck out simply 4, tied for the second-fewest he’d tallied in 2025 and the primary time he’d achieved so since late Might towards the Yankees.
However none of that mattered when Schanuel got here to the plate with the bases loaded, after Zach Neto was deliberately walked, washing away an 0-for-4 evening along with his walk-off stroll.
“I didn’t need a hit,” Schanuel mentioned. “I put my pride aside.”
Reliever R&R
The Angels positioned veteran right-handed aid pitcher Hunter Strickland on the 15-day injured record with right-shoulder irritation on Monday afternoon. Strickland, who had pitched 22 innings in 19 video games to the tune of a 3.27 earned-run common for the Angels, mentioned he felt his arm get stiff earlier than pitching towards the Blue Jays on Sunday.
Throughout his outing, by which Strickland struck out one batter in a scoreless inning, the 36-year-old mentioned the stiff sensation in his arm obtained worse, inflicting the IL stint. Cuban righty Víctor Mederos was referred to as up from triple-A Salt Lake Metropolis in his place.
“We’re just hoping for the best and see what they say,” Strickland mentioned, including that he’ll get an MRI on Tuesday.
Robert Stephenson (stretched nerve in proper bicep) mentioned he started throwing once more on Monday — tender toss — after soft-tissue restoration helped “fully heal” the nerve.
“I don’t think it’s gonna be a quick process, but at least I can start building up,” mentioned Stephenson, who’s within the second 12 months of a three-year, $33 million contract with the Angels.
Stephenson has thrown only one inning as a member of the Angels, hurting himself in his second look again from Tommy John surgical procedure on Might 30.
