Rangers ride momentum of walk-off win into opener vs. Astros

Thanks to a walk-off win on Thursday, the Texas Rangers head into their final series before the All-Star break atop the standings in the American League West.

The Rangers will open a three-game set against the Houston Astros on Friday night in Arlington, Texas.

Wyatt Langford drove in Alejandro Osuna with a one-out single in the ninth inning to give the Rangers a 7-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.

Langford was activated off the injured list earlier in the day after missing two weeks with a hamstring injury.

Texas, which had blown a 6-1 lead in the seventh inning, resides a half-game ahead of the second-place Seattle Mariners and two games in front of the third-place Astros in the AL West.

"That last at-bat was crucial," Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. "Obviously, we don't win the game without Wyatt Langford."

Langford was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts before his game-winning hit off Kirby Yates. Langford had been lobbying to make his return from a Grade 2 hamstring strain for a couple of days before finally getting the approval without a rehab stint.

"A lot of debate whether he was ready or not," Schumaker said. "Trust the player, trust the training staff, and the training staff did an amazing job with him."

The walk-off hit was the fourth of Langford's career.

"It's awesome," Langford said after getting a Gatorade shower. "I love to play baseball. That's why I do it -- to be able to be back out there and help the team win. Obviously, it was a tough game. We played really well. Then it was one bad inning, really. Being able to come back and pull that out was super huge for our team."

The win gives the Rangers some momentum going into their series against Yordan Alvarez and the Astros.

Cal Quantrill (3-1, 3.35 ERA) will make his fourth straight start for Texas in the series opener after beginning the season as a long reliever. He will oppose fellow right-hander Hunter Brown (1-0, 3.38).

Quantrill took the place in the rotation for Jack Leiter, who underwent surgery on June 23 to remove a loose body in his right ankle.

Quantrill is 1-3 with a 5.18 ERA in nine career appearances (five starts) against Houston. He made two relief appearances against the Astros earlier this season and allowed two hits over four scoreless innings.

Brown will make his fifth start since missing 2 1/2 months with a Grade 2 right shoulder strain. He is 4-4 with a 2.82 ERA in nine career starts against Texas.

Brown gave up a season-high seven runs (six earned) on six hits and four walks in four innings in his last start against Tampa Bay on Saturday. The Astros, behind two homers and six RBIs by Alvarez, rallied for a 10-8 win.

"We really picked Hunter Brown up today, and that's what good teams do," Houston manager Joe Espada said on Saturday. "We pick each other up, and we picked him up today."

This will be the third series between the Lone Star rivals this season. Houston has won the first two and is 5-2 in the seven games played.

--Field Level Media