Klassen gets first career win, Joyce gets first save of the season in 5-2 win

ANAHEIM, Calif. – George Klassen has been trying to find his way into the Big Leagues this season and on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers, he found his way into his first career win after a six inning performance where he allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out six. 

"Awesome," Klassen said. "Couldn't do it without Balley [Moisés Ballesteros] calling the game, defense behind me, bats swinging it; so it was just overall a good team win."

Working out of trouble

Klassen found himself in trouble in the second inning after a single, hit-by-pitch and walk loaded the bases and another walk drove in the Rangers' first run of the game, but he settled down soon after and limited the damage to just that one run in the jam. 

He said after the game that the biggest adjustments he needed to make after getting through that spot were to slow down the game and trust his stuff. That mindset shift carried him through another four innings where the only other hiccup was Corey Seager getting a hold of Klassen's slider, the seventh pitch of the at-bat, and sending it into the seats for a solo home run to put Texas up 2-0 in the third.

"Happy for him," Mike Trout said of Klassen. "After giving up a homer, getting out of that inning and then to be able to go the distance, get us through there and the bullpen come in, shut the door."

The Los Angeles Angels got on the board in the third inning with a RBI single from Mike Trout, but the real damage from the Angels offense came in a three-run bottom of the sixth. 

A big sixth

Jose Siri got things started with a double to the left-center gap to drive in Vaughn Grissom from second, and Siri kept things moving by stealing third, putting him in prime positioning for a little small ball from Denzer Guzman. 

"He's electric," Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said of Siri. "He's been doing an fantastic job coming off the bench, having his starts against lefties…. That energy, that aura that he brings to the team, to the field, it's contagious."

Steven Park – The Sporting Tribune

Jose Siri #28 of the Los Angeles Angels celebrates after hitting an RBI double during an MLB game against the Texas Rangers on August 12, 2026 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.

Guzman pulled off the squeeze with a bunt past the pitcher's mound to send the speedy Siri home, giving the Angels their first lead of the night 3-2. 

Oswald Peraza took one for the team and took a pitch to the hand to get himself aboard. Peraza would later leave the game with a left hand contusion, but he stayed in long enough for Trout to drive him in with a single after Guzman's bunt and a ground out from Wade Meckler advanced him to third. 

"Since the [All-Star] break, just trying to get that hit to get us going. So it's good to see us back," Trout said. 

Trout's second RBI of the night improved the Angels to a 4-2 lead and Adam Frazier, who replaced Peraza, added another with a RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to make it a 5-2 Angels lead.

Ben Joyce is back

That set the stage for Ben Joyce, the Angels flamethrower who was in just his fourth game back since recovering from shoulder surgery that kept him sidelined since April 8, 2025, to come in for the ninth. 

Joyce took the Rangers down in order, topping out at 103.4 MPH and striking out one to lock down his first save since Sep. 1, 2024.

"That was cool… He's been getting better each time out," Suzuki said. "Ball's coming out of his hand really easy, so it's nice to have that stability in the back end."