Nolan Schanuel earns walk-off walk to lift Angels

Travis d’Arnaud is aware of Jacob deGrom higher than any different catcher in baseball. He caught the hard-throwing right-hander 60 instances when they performed collectively with the New York Mets, probably the most frequent backstop the previous Cy Young Award winner has thrown to in his profession.

That familiarity did d’Arnaud and the Angels effectively en route to their 6-5 victory over the Rangers (44-47) on Monday evening, in which Nolan Schanuel walked off their American League West foes in the ninth inning by drawing a bases-loaded, RBI walk.

The veteran catcher ambushed deGrom in the second inning for a two-run home run, just hitting the ball arduous enough — 97.4 mph — over the left-field wall.

D’Arnaud’s home run broke deGrom’s Rangers franchise-record streak of 14 consecutive begins with two or fewer runs given up — and supplied the Angels (44-46) with an early 3-2 lead.

“Getting lucky to hit a homer against any Cy Young winner is really special,” stated d’Arnaud, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Later, with deGrom in line for the win, d’Arnaud tied the rating during a two-out rally in the sixth against aid pitcher Shawn Armstrong, lining a double to deep left-center area to rating Luis Rengifo, who reached base on a single.

“We were in every game right till the end, in every single game in Toronto, and so it showed we were still going to fight to the last out,” d’Arnaud stated, when requested about not having the ability to come through as a staff with three, one-run losses against the Blue Jays, “and today we were able to prevail, which is a huge step for us.”

A batter later, pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. channeled the “Throwback Week” theme at Angel Stadium, reverting to the clutch hitting that earned him the nickname “Late Night LaMonte” in San Francisco. The 31-year-old, sporting the ‘70s-style Angels uniform, singled to center to give the Angels a 5-4 lead.

Interim manager Ray Montgomery, who was ejected in the seventh innings arguing balls and strikes after Mike Trout looked at an inning-ending strike three call, said Wade waited for his opportunity to make an impact — even with limited at-bats after Jorge Soler’s return from damage creating a log jam in the outfield.

“Anytime off the bench you can get some sort of feeling and get some reps, it’s good, and you hope it carries over,” stated Montgomery, who watched the rest of the sport from the clubhouse. “Huge at-bat by him.”

DeGrom didn’t flex the ace-caliber stuff he usually assessments foes with. On Monday, he gave up three earned runs and 5 hits across 5 innings, hanging out 5 and strolling two.

Yusei Kikuchi, coming off Sunday’s announcement that he earned an All-Star berth (his second of his profession), didn’t dwell up to the pitcher’s duel billing either. The Japanese southpaw labored through an almost-20 minute first inning — in which he gave up a two-run home run to Corey Seager — and never settled down during his 5 innings.

“I didn’t have my best stuff, but the team really picked me up today,” Kikuchi stated in Japanese through an interpreter.

Before d’Arnaud’s tying double, Kikuchi was sure to be the dropping pitcher, giving up 4 runs on six hits, struggling to accrue the identical strikeout success he’d achieved as of late. He struck out just 4, tied for the second-fewest he’d tallied in 2025 and the first time he’d accomplished so since late May against the Yankees.

But none of that mattered when Schanuel got here to the plate with the bases loaded, after Zach Neto was deliberately walked, washing away an 0-for-4 evening with his walk-off walk.

“I didn’t need a hit,” Schanuel stated. “I put my pride aside.”

Reliever R&R

The Angels positioned veteran right-handed aid pitcher Hunter Strickland on the 15-day injured listing with right-shoulder irritation on Monday afternoon. Strickland, who had pitched 22 innings in 19 video games to the tune of a 3.27 earned-run average for the Angels, stated he felt his arm get stiff before pitching against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

During his outing, in which Strickland struck out one batter in a scoreless inning, the 36-year-old stated the stiff sensation in his arm bought worse, inflicting the IL stint. Cuban righty Víctor Mederos was known as up from triple-A Salt Lake City in his place.

“We’re just hoping for the best and see what they say,” Strickland stated, including that he’ll get an MRI on Tuesday.

Robert Stephenson (stretched nerve in proper bicep) stated he started throwing again on Monday — mushy toss — after soft-tissue restoration helped “fully heal” the nerve.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be a quick process, but at least I can start building up,” stated Stephenson, who is in the second yr of a three-year, $33 million contract with the Angels.

Stephenson has thrown just one inning as a member of the Angels, hurting himself in his second look back from Tommy John surgical procedure on May 30.