Zach Neto hit two home runs and Anaheim native Wade Meckler hit a three-run home run in his first career Angels at-bat to lead Los Angeles to a 9-6 victory over the Texas Rangers in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night in Anaheim, Calif.
It was the fourth multi-home run game of Neto’s career. Oswald Peraza went 3-for-4 with a home run, Mike Trout doubled and had two hits and two runs, Nolan Schanuel had two hits and an RBI and Logan O’Hoppe also had two RBIs for the Angels, who snapped a three-game losing streak with just their second win in 11 games.
Grayson Rodriguez (1-1), making just his second start in 670 days after missing almost two seasons with assorted injuries, picked up his first win since July 31, 2024, allowing four runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.
Brandon Nimmo homered and doubled and drove in two runs, Evan Carter had a two-run triple, Jake Burger had a ground-rule double and scored two runs and Danny Jansen also homered for Texas. Jacob deGrom (3-4) allowed six runs on six hits and three walks over three innings while striking out three.
deGrom, who tied a career-high by allowing four home runs in his previous start, was ambushed on his first pitch by Neto, who hit his 12th career leadoff homer, a 398-foot drive to left. Trout and Jorge Soler followed with walks, and with two outs, Meckler made it 4-0 when he drilled a 403-foot homer into the bleachers in right, his first career home run.
After the Angels extended the lead to 6-0 in the third on a two-run, bases-loaded single by O’Hoppe, the Rangers closed to 6-3 in the fourth on a leadoff homer by Nimmo, a 436-foot drive to dead center, and a two-run triple by Carter over the head of Trout in center,
Texas cut the lead to 6-4 in the sixth when Burger lined a ground-rule double down the left field line and scored on a single by Justin Foscue, then closed within a run on an RBI double by Nimmo in the seventh.
Peraza made it 7-5 with his sixth home run in the bottom of the seventh, a 418-foot drive over the bullpen in left. Neto led off the eighth with his 10th homer of the season, a 427-foot blast to left-center, to make it 8-5. Trout followed with a double and scored on a single by Schanuel.
Jansen hit his third home run of the season off Mitch Farris leading off the ninth to finish the scoring.
