Walbert Urena helps Angels hold off Rangers

Jeff Fletcher, The Orange County Register on May 24, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Angels pitchers finally got some of the big outs that have been so hard to come by during this frustrating season.

The Angels escaped three bases-loaded jams, allowing them to hang on to a 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.

Angels starter Walbert Ureña got out of two bases-loaded jams with strikeouts of Jake Burger. In the eighth inning, reliever José Fermin loaded the bases on two walks and an infield hit before getting out of the mess with a strikeout and a fly ball.

The Rangers were 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position, and they left 11 runners on base. It was the kind of night the Angels’ hitters have suffered through in many of their losses over the past month.

Maybe it’s a sign that things are starting to turn for them. The Angels (19-34) have now won consecutive games for the first time since May 5-6, which was also the last time they won a series.

On Sunday, they have a chance at their first sweep of the season.

For most of the night, Angels pitchers had little margin for error because the offense was also having trouble.

Mike Trout hit a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw in the first inning. Trout rarely swings at the first pitch, but Nathan Eovaldi left a cutter over the middle.

After that, the Angels didn’t score again until the fifth, when Nolan Schanuel yanked a two-out RBI double down the right field line.

Schanuel ran gingerly to second, and then an inning later he came out of the game with left calf tightness, the Angels announced.

The Angels finally got some breathing room in the eighth, as they strung together three singles and a walk. Oswald Peraza pulled a ground ball past the drawn-in infield to drive in the runs.

The cushion helped Kirby Yates have less stress in the ninth, when he converted his first save in an Angels uniform.

Yates locked up the victory for Ureña on a night that he had to grind through five grueling innings.

Ureña gave up five hits and he walked three, forcing him to pitch with traffic all night.

Fortunately for the Angels, he had Burger’s number. The Rangers’ first baseman came up with two outs and the bases loaded in the third and fifth innings.

Ureña struck him out both times, and in the fifth Burger flung his bat to the backstop as he whiffed on a changeup.

Getting deeper into games will be the next step for Ureña, but the Angels aren’t going to complain about where he is right now, considering he’s 22 and in his first two months as a big leaguer. Ureña has a 2.70 ERA through his first seven major league starts, and he’s allowed more than two runs only once.

The Angels had a 3-1 lead when the bullpen took over. Ryan Zeferjahn, pitching for the fourth time in six days, recorded the first three outs. Left-hander Tayler Saucedo and right-hander Chase Silseth got through the seventh, before Fermin’s high-wire act in the eighth.