Rangers Head West to Open Three-Game Series With Angels

The Texas Rangers had a wild past two weeks.

After being swept by the Houston Astros and bumped out of the division lead, Texas was at its lowest point in the 2026 season, and its front office was faced with the difficult decision of deciding which direction to send the organization in at the MLB Trade Deadline.

Ultimately, the Rangers decided to maintain their core, which manager Skip Schumaker said he always has and still does believe in.

Despite a small sample size, Texas has rewarded the front office for that decision as they rattled off a 4-2 homestand and now sit just a half-game back of Houston of first place in the American League West.

On Monday, the Rangers will look to take advantage of a big opportunity ahead of them as they take on the last-place, 45-73 Los Angeles Angels.

In their first trip to Anaheim this season, Texas was swept by the Angels back in May, but there’s no doubt they will enter in far better form this go-around.

Getting the start on the mound for the Rangers in game one of the series will be MacKenzie Gore, who makes his first appearance since being activated from the Paternity List on Saturday.

Last week, Gore and his fiancée, Alex, fiancée, welcomed their daughter, Billi, on Thursday in Dallas.

Through 24 starts in his first season with the Rangers, Gore is 6-9 with a 4.55 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and 140 strikeouts in 128.2 innings.

In his last start against the San Francisco Giants, Gore threw one of his best games of the season, going six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out four in a game Texas would go on to win 5-4 on a walk-off double by Ezequiel Duran.

Gore has faced the Angels twice already this season, allowing just one run against them in Los Angeles, but in Arlington, he allowed seven earned runs in five innings.

On the other side of the ball, the Rangers will face Angels left-hander Reid Detmers, who many suspected would be traded at the deadline.

Detmers comes into play with a 3-8 record, a 4.12 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and 150 strikeouts in 129 innings this season.

Texas has seen Detmers twice already this season, with two very different results. On May 24th in Los Angeles, he went eight innings, allowing just one run, but on July 9th in Arlington, the Rangers tagged him for five earned runs in four innings.