Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36) celebrates with his teammate after 7-6 victory against Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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ARLINGTON — Walk-off wins: Exhilarating, exciting and exuberant.
Or, in the case of the Rangers, simply exhausting.
On Thursday, the Rangers walked off the woeful Los Angeles Angels, 7-6, on Wyatt Langford’s first hit since his expedient return from the IL to walk back into first place in the AL West. Shoulda had the whole place hopping. Instead, it was more a case of relief.
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Because it was this close — thisclose — to being the most disastrous night of the season. Before Langford’s ninth-inning liner into the left field corner scored Alejandro Osuna, the Rangers had blown a five-run, seventh-inning lead, which would have been their biggest choke of the season. They still managed to burn through All-Star closer Jacob Latz, asking him to ultimately throw 41 pitches, meaning he’s definitely not available for the series opener with Houston on Friday. Maybe not Saturday either.
And they nearly tossed out a 10-strikeout outing from Nathan Eovaldi and another one-man lefty wrecking-crew performance from Justin Foscue.
“There is no way to get around it,” said manager Skip Schumaker. “It would have been a really, really challenging night if we didn’t walk it off right there. It would not have been fun. Instead, it’s amazing what a walk-off can do. It’s a 180-degree turn on feelings. It changed a lot of different emotions post-game because of Wyatt’s hit.”
It’s a very candid answer made even more remarkable by the fact that, as a rule, managers absolutely hate hypothetical questions. But, it simply had to be asked.
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The win gave the Rangers a series win over the Angels and pushed them to a game above .500 at 47-46. In the AL West, that’s good enough for first place again, a half-game ahead of Seattle. The Rangers have a four-game series with the Mariners in Arlington in two weeks, which will be a big determinant for the club’s direction at the trade deadline, but in the meantime, the Houston Astros, 1 ½ games behind the Rangers and holding a pretty strong edge in the potential season tiebreaker that could determine a playoff spot, come to town Friday for the final series before the All-Star break.
Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Latz (67) delivers during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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The Rangers will go in without Latz, at least for a day. Thursday’s win also exposed another weakness in the bullpen, too. Schumaker went to Latz in the eighth of a tie game, the first time he turned to him that early in a game the Rangers’ didn’t hold a lead since mid-April. It showed a lack of faith in the club’s setup role, nominally held by Chris Martin, really held by nobody. The Rangers biggest trade deadline need is a right-handed leverage arm. Had they had somebody they trusted more, perhaps Latz doesn’t enter until the ninth and perhaps he’s available on Friday.
But, hey, those are hypotheticals.
Instead, Cole Winn took over with two outs and two on in the ninth, but got Jo Adell to line out to center field to end the inning. It gave the Rangers a chance to salvage the win.
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Alejandro Osuna was able to stay on a splitter from Kirby Yates long enough to line it to center field. Then against the right-hander, Nicky Lopez pinch hit for Foscue, who took over the MLB league in OPS against left-handed pitching at 1.261 with a homer, double and a walk in four plate appearances against lefties. Lopez laid down a perfect bunt to move Osuna to second.
And Langford, who had gone 0 for 4 in his first four at-bats since being activated from the IL, caught a 1-1 fastball on the inside corner and drove it off the left field wall for the game-winner.
“I love to play baseball,” Langford said afterwards. “That’s why I do it, to be able to be back out there and help the team win, when we’re obviously in a tough game. We played well; we just had one bad inning. Then to be able to come back and pull that out was super huge for the team.”
It made all the difference.
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Instead of answering about factual disasters, it was a lot easy to answer when they were only hypothetical.
Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36) celebrates with his teammates Jake Burger (21) and Ezequiel Duran (20) after 7-6 victory against Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36) gets a high-five from his teammate Evan Carter (32) after 7-6 victory against Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36), center, celebrates with his teammates Nicky Lopez, behind, and Ezequiel Duran (20) after 7-6 victory against Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36) runs after hitting a single during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington. Texas Rangers Alejandro Osuna (19) scored on a single hit by Langford and won the game 7-6.
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Texas Rangers left fielder Alejandro Osuna (19) gestures after hitting a single during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Fans light up the stadium at the end of the seventh inning of a baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Los Angeles Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel (18) gets a high-five from his teammates after scoring on a single by Jo Adell during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers pitcher Peyton Gray (75) turns the ball over to manager Skip Schumaker (55) as catcher Kyle Higashioka (11) and first baseman Jake Burger (21) look on during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Los Angeles Angels Logan O’Hoppe (14) is out at home by Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka (11) during the seventh inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers Cam Cauley (27) is congratulated after scoring on a double by Justin Foscue (14) during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers Justin Foscue (14) watches his double during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36) connects with the ball during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers Justin Foscue (14), is congratulated after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers Justin Foscue (14), left, shakes hands with Texas Rangers Wyatt Langford (36) after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers shortstop Ezequiel Duran (20) celebrates after hitting a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36) throws his helmet after he lined out during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36) throws his helmet after he lined out during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers Josh Jung (6) celebrates after scoring on a single by Texas Rangers Jake Burger (21) during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers right fielder Brandon Nimmo (24) gestures after hitting a home run as Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe (14) looks away during the first inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers designated hitter Wyatt Langford (36) is ready to swing during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers’ Wyatt Langford signs autographs before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Arlington.
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