ANAHEIM -- This is the MacKenzie Gore the Rangers envisioned when they acquired the lefty in a blockbuster deal last offseason, shipping five highly touted prospects to Washington.
On the day the Rangers placed rotation horse Nathan Eovaldi on the injured list with right posterior elbow inflammation -- throwing its recently bolstered pitching depth into flux -- Gore continued a recent hot stretch.
The 27-year-old struck out nine Angels across 5 1/3 innings of work, walking two with four hits allowed as the Rangers beat the Angels 4-1 in 10 innings in Monday’s series opener at Angel Stadium. Gore’s lone blemish was a first-inning solo home run to likely future Hall of Famer Mike Trout.
“I think from here on out, every game, no matter who it is, is important,” Gore said. “I think these teams, we’ve seen them a lot, so there’s probably going to be some longer games like we had tonight. This was a gutsy win, a huge win in the first game of the series, and we come back and do it [again] tomorrow.”
Gore owns a 2.70 ERA over his past four outings dating back to July 24, with 27 punchouts in 23 1/3 innings. His latest effort came with an extra day of rest, after Gore spent three days on the paternity list as he and his fiancée, Alex, welcomed their daughter Billi on Thursday, their first child.
“I know it was a meaningful start to him and to his family, and he’ll probably keep that ball and that lineup card forever. So a special day for him,” manager Skip Schumaker said.
While the phenomenon known as “dad strength” is usually associated with hitters who homer in their return from paternity leave, Gore nonetheless returned to the Rangers rested and in near-top form. His 22 whiffs were by far a season high -- his previous best was 17 -- and the fifth most in any of his 127 career starts. Gore was particularly effective with his changeup, which accounted for 12 of his whiffs and four of his punchouts.
Gore’s outing also comes early on amid a stretch of 10 games in as many days, as the Rangers open a crucial seven-game road trip against AL West opponents.
“Trying to get Gore some length today is going to be huge,” Schumaker said pregame. “On a long trip, that’s No. 1. [Ten]-game stretch, getting our starters to not go three-plus innings like we did yesterday is a big deal. So we have to not wear out our bullpen.”
The bullpen did its job, holding the Angels scoreless the rest of the way. But the Rangers didn’t muster much offense -- until the 10th.
Corey Seager nearly put the game away in the seventh, but Angels right fielder Wade Meckler made a spectacular catch at the wall to rob what would have been a three-run home run. Through nine frames, the Rangers had only five hits -- all singles.
Then came the 10th.
Wyatt Langford worked a leadoff walk. Seager’s single loaded the bases before Brandon Nimmo and Jake Burger hit back-to-back singles to bring in three runs to give the Rangers their first -- and last -- lead of the night.
Nimmo’s single came off Angels lefty Blake Weiman, continuing the veteran outfielder’s continued success against southpaws this year. His .353 batting average against lefties is second in baseball only to Miami’s Otto Lopez.
“I’m confident with any hand they throw at Brandon Nimmo. He’s so good,” Schumaker said. “But his numbers are real against left-handers. He sticks his nose in it, he’s in the fight, not afraid of a good slider or a good fastball against any lefty. It’s impressive.
“There’s so many other things that he does inside the meetings, or inside the clubhouse, that people aren’t even aware about that uplift the whole team. It’s such an advantage to have Brandon Nimmo on our team. We’re really lucky to have him.”
With Monday’s win, the Rangers moved to 60-59, increasing their cushion for the AL’s third Wild Card spot to 1 1/2 games and staying a half-game back of the Astros in the division.
“It is a big road trip,” Nimmo said. “... The only way that we can control our destiny is by winning. We’re not going to be able to win every game, but we’re going to need to win a lot more than we lose for the rest of the season. For us to make that not feel so big, you just need to break it down to [that] you can’t take any game for granted.”